I have been meaning to try this Rioja wine for some time and in the last week I have tried it in two vintages.  Both were impressive, but the 2007 could use a little more time in bottle to achieve a better balance.  Predicador is the inexpensive wine that Benjamin Romeo brought onto the market in 2005.  Benjamin Rome is a cult winemaker in Rioja and is responsible for such amazing wines as Contador, La Cueva de Contador, La Viña de Andrés, all priced 80 euros or higher.  Benjamin Romeo also offers one of Spain’s most unique whites, Que Bonito Cacareaba, which retails for about 35€.  The story behind the name is funny…it translates as “How wonderfully it crowed.”  Seems strange but originally it was called Gallo canto or “Cock crows”, but obviously Gallo in Spanish is spelled the same as the famous winery Gallo.  Need I say more….so Benjamin killed off the Gallo and in memoriam named the wine Que Bonito Cacareaba!  Love it and love the wine.  The Predicador is less intense and simpler than it’s pricy big brother, but it offers a lot of bang for the buck at only about 19€.   It is an intense, sweet fruit, fresh modern Rioja with great oak integration and a long finish.  The 2006 has the edge for me right now…much smoother.  The 2007 is delicious, but the tannins are a bit tight still.     It really a pleasure to drink a good value wine from this unique and creative winemaker.  Read on for more details on Predicador.  

Roda Reserva 2004 from Rioja is the wine I have consumed most over the past year.  I love to change the wines I put in my tastings constantly….otherwise I get bored!  The Roda, however, has been the exception…it is the consistently the favorite wine in my line-ups of eight wines from all over Spain.  The 2004 vintage, which is really structured, has only been getting better over the months…I’m dreading the day they come out with the 2005…it’s a very nice wine, but it will take a year to get to where the 2004 is now.  This wine is a firmly modern Rioja with only 16 months in new French oak.  The special thing about it is that perfect balance it has between sweet red fruit, fresh Rioja acidity, perfectly integrated oak and firm, yet ripe tannins.  It is so youthful, with many years ahead, but so easy to drink now.  It is really good value at 20-22€ retail in Madrid. It is the all round wine, a wine that please all types and nationalities of wine drinkers.  I serve it so much I do get burned out on Roda but I can’t stop serving it!  Read on for more details on the wine.

A couple of really interesting articles at Market Watch and at Decanter in the last week really gave some insights into how Spanish wine is performing in the current crisis market.  According to Market Watch, Spanish imports are performing better than average in the US wine market, and particularly when you compare their numbers to other major European wine exporters such as French, Italy and Germany.   The value of Spanish table wines increased 5% in 2008 while cava imports performed even better at 9%….obviously cava is good recession alternative to Champagne!  The Decanter article addresses the situation in the UK market, Spanish wines declined in volume by 3% but remained stable in value.  Hopefully this shows that UK and US consumers that Spanish wines offer great value at very inexpensive price points, but also at higher price points.   It’s great to see Spanish wines performing so well in this difficult market…certainly the quality and value of the product on offer merits the recognition of the consumer.  The Decanter article’s main theme was that Rioja imports had declined as compared to their rival regions.  Just as interesting is the comment posted by the UK office of Wines from Rioja, denying any slump in Rioja sales in the UK!  Decanter doesn’t provide any assessment of Rioja’s decline, but I have been thinking of a few.  Read on for some more thoughts….

When I arrived in Spain over 6 years ago, Robert Parker and his team were just starting to pay attention to the wines in a big way.  Since then I have seen awareness of him take off in the wine sector…frequently these days, winery professionals talk about the ratings they’ve received from the Wine Advocate.  I often ask my groups of wine tasters if they’ve heard of Robert Parker, and though many of the foreigners have, very few of the Spanish groups have. The concept of wine ratings still hasn’t really filtered down to the typical Spanish wine consumer…he or she still rely on the recommendations of family, friends, or their local wine merchant.  There are quite a few wine guides and magazines in Spain that rate wines, but ratings are a tool that is just starting to be used as a marketing tool by wineries, distributors and wine merchants. 

It’s often a challenge to find a great wine from Rioja at a great price.  One of my favourite producers is Finca Valpiedra, a winery that has only ever offered a single reserva wine.  Finca Valpiedra is a great reserva that is a hybrid between modern and traditional styles, a style that can appeal to every wine aficionado!  It has a slightly longish oak aging time, 18-22 months, but largely in new French oak.  The fruit has all the bright exuberance of a modern Rioja yet has the silky texture and elegance of a more traditional reserva.  Love the current 2004 vintage, but at around 20€, it’s not for everyday drinking.