Being right “in the middle of the river” is the best compliment Valenciso has been given so far, something akin to a metaphor to explain that they encompass the best of classic and modern Rioja.
The fact is that Valenciso doesn’t really fit in with the terroir-driven approach of the younger generation of Rioja producers. Instead it feels closer to the classic Haro producers based in Barrio de la Estación who work with blends to obtain fine, elegant wines with the ability to age. Having said that, Valenciso Reserva tastes pretty different —although it is refined and silky, in tune with the region’s style, it is also vibrant and direct.
“When we released our first wine in 2001 people expected it to be another fruit bomb so in a way we went against the tide from the very beginning,” Carmen Enciso recalls. “Our main problem is that we stand in a blurred area. Valenciso meets most of what’s required from the leading estates, but it is not small enough to be associated with artisan-style wines.”
Carmen Enciso and Luis Valentín (combining their surnames resulted in a brand with a pleasant ring to it) had a deep understanding of modern Rioja when they set up their own business in 1998. Their time at Bodegas Palacio -when it was owned by the Seagram corporation and particularly during the time (1985 to 1998) French investors took over under the guidance of Jean Gervais- provided them with an insider view.
“Bodegas Palacio was Michel Rolland’s second client outside France. Gervais had asked him to modernise Tempranillo,” explains Luis Valentín who still recalls Rolland’s successive arrivals to their winery in Laguardia driving (in this order) a Citroën, a BMW, a Mercedes and finally in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes.
French oak, a focus on fruit and reasonable aging times were valuable lessons learnt in those days. They also learnt the importance of good vines well before singular vineyards and village wines became buzzwords in the region.
“We had already embraced this concept the 1980s,” Luis Valentín points out. “It certainly grants more freedom, proves that Rioja is moving on and fights the trivialisation that we have been suffering over the past 10-15 years. Additionally, it puts vineyards before barrels. But we don’t like single-vineyard wines to be placed above blends. And we still risk finishing up like Vinos de Pago.” [Vinos de Pago is a classification originally created in Castilla-La Mancha in 2003 which tried to give recognition to quality-focused wine estates but failed to make a name for itself among the industry and the consumers].
Vineyards are a key element in Valenciso. Apart from some grapes purchased from two growers, Valenciso work with 27 hectares divided on 17 plots around the estate in Ollauri as well as in Briones, Rodezno, Zarratón, Haro and Villalba, the coldest and highest village. They are all within a 10km radius from their winery. Half of them are their own; the rest, many of whom will not be passed on to the next generation, are managed under 15-year leases with a right to buy.
“Tending vineyards just on weekends does not benefit grape growers and affects quality,” Luis Valentín says. “Fortunately, we are seeing an upturn thanks to subsides being granted to growers under 35 and, at the same time, producers are rising their quality requirements. It is obvious that yields were too high because quantity was more profitable than quality".
Valenciso started its conversion to organic viticulture two years ago and could be certified in two years’ time. Biodynamic preparations like chamomile, horsetail and sage infusions to fight mildiu are used occasionally.
For Carmen and Luis, there’s no winning formula. At the end of the day, they say, old vines and good barrels are the key elements. They recall what the late Denis Dubourdieu, a revered personality at Valenciso, used to say: the sorting table is a classic and inefficient tool because the best possible selection must be done in the vineyard.
Dubourdieu offered invaluable help to define the style of their Valenciso white, a blend of Viura and White Garnacha that is now close to 10,000 bottles. An intriguing, limited-production white, it shows finesse, definition and bright acidity. Carefully pressed, both varieties are fermented together using natural yeasts. Light-toast Caucasian oak -with a finer pore than French oak- is used.
For a long time, the only wine produced by Valenciso was their Reserva. It’s understandable given that the first vintages were made in rented facilities: Laguardia at the beginning, then San Vicente. For some time, they even had batches of wine split between Navarrete and Fuenmayor. Luis Valentín recalls presenting his wines to Boutinot, their UK importer, using a scaffold as a tasting table. Sales (60% of the wine is exported) and brand building were a priority since the very first 98 vintage. Their functional, beautifully decorated winery in Ollauri was built in 2006.
The Reserva accounts for most of the 150,000 bottles produced by Valenciso on an annual basis. A 100% Tempranillo, it blends grapes from different villages in Rioja Alta. Four people take part in the blending: Carmen, Luis, Ana Ruiz (“our first employee,” Carmen recalls fondly) and winemaker Alicia Erayalar, who works for Valenciso almost since the beginning.
“The big tasting takes place once a year,” Luis explains. “We try all the vats and first and second year barrels. Then we leave, return an hour later, taste again and leave the blend to retaste the day after. What really tells us about the wine’s ability to be laid down is how it behaves after 24 hours.”
Carmen and Luis believe that beyond the fruit, the impact of oak is what must be reined in, based on the characteristics of each vintage. Since 2011, they have included 10% of Caucasian oak in the blend -until now the Reserva was entirely aged in French oak. “The wine feels fresher and lively and the oak is less noticeable,” Luis Valentín says. “Perhaps the palate is firmer at the beginning, but we have the impression that the style is more modern this way”.
The wine that experts are probably most excited about is Valenciso 10 Años Después (literally 10 Years Later). It benefits from extended aging in the same cement tanks where fermentation usually takes place: four and a half years in cement plus four years in barrel. Oak is 100% Caucasian but not the type used for the Reserva -instead, it goes into the lightly-toasted barrels where Valenciso white is previously aged.
Grapes are usually sourced from a 75-year-old vineyard located in Haro. So far only two vintages, 2005 and 2007, have been released but I had the chance to taste the 2008 side by side with the Reserva 2008. The 10 Años Después clearly felt younger and fresher, with firmer tannins and additional cellaring potential. A very interesting way of increasing a wine’s life!
Other benefits of cement, according to Luis and Carmen, are gentler extractions and different malolatic fermentations: “colour loss is non-existent”.
Valenciso’s best kept secret is a limited-production Tempranillo rosé (2,000 bottles). It went through a significant change in the 2016 vintage and is now bled-off, fermented at very low temperature in stainless steel tanks and later stirred intensely with its lees. A delicate rosé, it displays fennel and aniseed aromas followed by fine dairy notes and a vibrant palate.
Perhaps Valenciso is not among the most renowned producers in Rioja but Carmen and Luis have mastered the art of expressing the essence of Rioja with a 21st century perspective.
| Search |
|---|
|
|
