Not Quite Rioja

A friend of ours loves Rioja but, when we invited her and her husband to dinner one evening recently, we decided to cook them a rich warming venison casserole.  Perfect for a bleak January day but not ideal for pairing with the subtle fruitiness of a good Rioja.  So, what could I find that would be robust enough for the food, yet still offer the flavour and character of her favourite wine?

Most red Rioja is made from a blend of grapes including Tempranillo, which gives the wine its perfumed fruit and floral aromas, and Garnacha (known in France as Grenache) which adds alcohol, body and depth to the wine.  It seemed to me that, by focussing just on the Garnacha, I could find something right for the dish and for our friends who, hopefully, would enjoy both food and wine.  I settled on a bottle from the Cariñena DO, barely 50 miles down river from Rioja, close to the town of Zaragosa.  Here, with more of a Mediterranean influence, temperatures are rather warmer and the Garnacha grapes are harvested riper and yield a chunkier, more powerful wine.

Mancuso’s Garnacha (Wine Society, £13.95) is produced by a small, family run company from 50 year old vines, giving a lovely depth of flavour.  Although clearly a big wine, this had freshness and even some elegance, too.  Ripe blackberry flavours combined with subtle spicy oak notes led on to a long clean finish with well-integrated tannins.  The label showed 14.5% alcohol but this was barely noticeable as everything about the wine was beautifully balanced.  It did, as I had hoped, go really well with the venison, but I actually enjoyed the little that was left in my glass after the meal on its own later in the evening.

Garnacha often goes under the radar, but it’s a variety that, in my opinion, wine lovers looking for a big, yet fresh wine should always bear in mind.

An Old Favourite

What does ‘Rioja’ mean to you?  For me, it’s a reliable old favourite that always has a place on our wine rack; a ‘go to’ wine when I don’t want to take the risk that one of the more obscure bottles, that I’m so often tempted by, doesn’t prove to be as good as I’d hoped. 

Yet many customers misunderstand Rioja.  How often have I heard that it’s a grape variety or that it’s always very oaky in taste?

Let’s start with a few basics.  Rioja is not a grape variety; it’s a wine from a defined region of Spain and you can find white and rosé versions as well as the more common red.  The main grape of red Rioja is Tempranillo but that’s often blended with other varieties, principally Garnacha (also known as Grenache). 

And then there’s the question of oak.  Some Riojas may be quite oaky in taste, but they are a minority.  So, if you don’t want an oaky wine (or if you do!), check the label.  It will probably say ‘Crianza’, ‘Reserva’ or ‘Gran Reserva’.  The first of these will be a young, fruity wine with little or no obvious oak influence – perfect for those who enjoy New World Merlot, for example.  Gran Reservas are the opposite.  These are the oaky ones, having spent considerable time in barrel and taken on the typical savoury, leathery flavours of a mature wine as well as the wood character.  In between are the Reservas, which are my favourites.  The best are beautifully balanced, retaining enough fruit and freshness to make them really drinkable but with added complexity from a little ageing and subtle oaking – the emphasis on ‘subtle’.

There are many producers making excellent examples of this style.  Muga’s Rioja Reserva is a good place to start for those who have been dubious about Rioja in the past.  There’s just a hint of oak there but it’s gentle and you’d barely notice it as it’s so well integrated into the overall palate of refreshing, juicy red fruits; it’s a very food-friendly wine, too – try it with simply grilled lamb chops.  Majestic have it for £17.99 but you’ll also find it in some bigger supermarkets, many wine merchants – and, of course, on our wine rack!