Rioja Vino de Autor in Two Vintages:  San Vicente 2003 and 2004

Vintage Variation in Spain is not as extreme as it is in more northern climates, but it obviously still has a very real impact.  I was fortunate to try one of my favourite Vinos de Autor in two very different vintages. 

San Vicente was one of the original Vinos de Autor in Rioja, leading the way to the modern starting in 1991.  This was the first vine de terruño or terroir…a single vineyard wine made from the “ideal” vineyard as envisioned by the winemakers, the Eguren family.  As such it has become an icon and remaisn so today, despite the multiple vinos de autor that have proliferated recently.

The Gran Reserva is almost exclusively a classic style in Rioja….most of these wines have over 30 months in oak, many as much as 48 months!   National wine law in Spain has changed…the minimum oak aging for a gran reserva is 18 months, though the total time before release remains 5 years.  But many of the regional authorities have left the minimum oak aging period at 24 months.  In any case the typical aging periods far exceed the minimum.