If there is a traditional white wine producer in Rioja, it is certainly Franco-Españolas. Founded in 1890 by Frederic Anglade and Alexandre Lepine in Logroño, this French company, which became a 100% Spanish owned in 1920, has always produced significant quantities of white wine. The most popular brand, dating back to the winery's beginnings, is the semi-sweet Diamante. But there is another white that has always fascinated us. Viña Sole Tête de Cuvée is a limited-production, barrel-aged wine that, judging by the old vintages in the winery's cellars, has always been considered a white to be laid down.
Tasting some old vintages has inspired us to explore the history of the brand and the styles of yesteryear. We look to the past just as Rioja whites are experiencing perhaps their sweetest moment ever.
Viña Sole was registered in 1943 as an "extra-dry white table wine with characteristics similar to those of the Rhine." These are records of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, along with the first draft of the label, shown in the slideshow above. It followed the tradition of echoing established styles, although unlike other brands of the time, which used terms such as Claret, Método Médoc, Cepa Graves, Cepa Sauternes or Spanish Burgundy on their labels, it never alluded to the style that inspired it. The first vintage documented by Franco-Españolas is 1945.
But the two-Michelin-starred Venta Moncalvillo restaurant in Daroca de Rioja (La Rioja) has three bottles from the 1933 vintage in its collection of old wines. According to co-owner and sommelier Carlos Echapresto, it would be logical for the first bottlings to be from vintages before the trademark was registered. Although the labels are quite damaged, the trademark can be seen beneath the winery's coat of arms. Below is a later version with the Consejo Regulador seal, courtesy of wine label collector Eustaquio Uceda.
The label has undergone several changes over the years. Even the name of the wine changed from Viña Sole to Viña Soledad or Viña de la Soledad, with both names appearing simultaneously on the same label in the 1959 and 1969 vintages. The latest redesign (see the evolution from 1969 to the present day in the slideshow above) has restored the original brand name but has completely changed the aesthetics of the original label, although it retains the Rhine-shaped bottle. The most striking change is that Viña Sole is now part of the Bordón range, a brand that Franco-Españolas has traditionally used for reds.
A feature that appears on the label as early as 1959 is the term 'Tête de Cuvée', which underlines the fact that the wine is made from free-run juice. The wine, which is only produced in excellent vintages, has been released alternately as a Reserva and a Gran Reserva. During the current ownership of the Eguizábal family, it has been sold as a Reserva (as is the case with the current release, the 2017 vintage), but from 2018 it will be released as a Gran Reserva to reflect the five years it spends in oak.
At present, around 7,000 bottles are produced, but in the past the output was much more substantial, as evidenced by the numbered bottles we were able to taste. More than 21,000 bottles were produced in the 1959 vintage, while the excellent 1982 vintage exceeded 46,000 bottles.
Franco-Españolas also produced a young white under the Viña Soledad brand from the early 1980s, when fresh, fruity whites became fashionable, until the 2010s. The packaging, however, was different from that of Viña Sole.
Viña Sole is listed among the fruity dry whites in José del Castillo's Rioja chart in his book Los vinos de España (The Wines of Spain, Proyección Editorial, 1971). Other categories of white wine were extra dry, dry, abocado and semi-sweet. While López de Heredia's Viña Gravonia was also described as a fruity dry white, Cvne's Monopole was considered extra dry and Diamante was listed as a semi-sweet 'sauternes style' white. Although describing Viña Sole as an extra dry white could be misleading, Emma Villajos, technical director at Franco-Españolas, says the distinction between Diamante and the dry style chosen for Viña Sole was very clear.
Sommelier Carlos Echapresto, who has had the chance to taste a number of old vintages of Viña Sole, agrees, but thinks that at some point overripe grapes may have been added to the blend. A 1945 he uncorked in his restaurant a few days ago had aromas of dried apricots and petrol, with very good acidity, so much so that in a blind tasting it could be mistaken for an old Riesling. Some of our tasting notes at the end of the article use similar descriptors.
It is not easy to trace the winemaking process of a wine with such a rich history. Viña Sole survived the industrialisation of Rioja in the 1970s, under the ownership of Rumasa, and the turbulent years that led to the expropriation of the Ruiz-Mateos group and its subsequent purchase by Rioja businessman Marcos Eguizábal in 1984.
Wine books from the 1970s and 1980s describe it as a Gran Reserva made from 50% Viura, 25% Malvasía and 25% Garnacha Blanca, although in recent decades Viura has been used. It is surprising to hear about Garnacha Blanca, as this variety began to appear in quality white Rioja blends in the mid to late 2000s, but Echapresto recalls that the variety was present in the Iregua Valley, south of Logroño.
It would appear that the grapes were generally sourced from cool, north-facing vineyards exposed to the influence of the Sistema Ibérico, and that they were picked very late in the season. The pattern has remained unchanged in recent years. According to Emma Villajos, from 2012 to 2015 the wine was made with grapes from the Najerilla Valley; from 2016 to 2020 grapes came from three old plots in Sojuela, in the Sierra de Moncalvillo; and from 2021 the winery has been working with a grower from Tudelilla, who owns vineyards in the highest part of the village, close to Bergasa.
Winemaking began with fermentation in a 30,000-litre wooden vat. When it was finished, the wine was removed, the vat cleaned and then refilled to allow the wine to settle for a year. It was then aged in barrels for five years. There must have been a small amount of new wood, as new barrels were usually filled with white wine. In addition, some of the grapes were fermented with the skins, as was common in historic white Rioja.
From the 2006 vintage, instead of spending a year in the vat, the wine was put directly into barrels and more new oak was added. In 2024, Villajos, who joined the winery in time for the 2023 vintage, will introduce further changes. She intends to ferment the grapes with their skins and keep them until November to capture the full aromatic potential of Viura. Ageing will be reduced to 24 months in 225-litre barrels, followed by 1,000-litre and 3,000-litre casks. This could be an interesting update for Viña Sole, but we will have to wait a few years to taste the result.
Two vintages were enough to put Viña Sole on my list of wines to keep an eye on. One is the oldest I have tasted, the 1959; the other, 2006, represents a more modern period. And there are many interesting vintages in between. The following notes were taken at an event held by Franco-Españolas in Madrid last year and a visit to the winery in Logroño earlier this year. The name of the wine is shown as it appears on the label.
Viña Soledad Tête de Cuvée Reserva 1959 Blanco. Deep golden colour. Toasted, nutty aromas with notes of peach liqueur and a perfumed, dried leaves background. It opens up to exotic spices (turmeric, curry), wax and bitter orange peel. The palate has a striking acidity, with a citrus character that gives it vivacity and length, as if it could go on forever. A vintage that invites us to consider the ageing potential of white Rioja.
95 points
Viña Sole Viña de la Soledad 1969 Blanco. Amber brown colour. Slightly exotic nose with a mix of herbs, orange peel and dried apricot aromas evolving into iodine and dusty notes. On the palate it retains a core of citrus acidity that provides a vibrant note. Lemon honey and toasted notes on the finish.
92 points
Viña Soledad Tête de Cuvée Gran Reserva 1978 Blanco. Amber brown colour. More mellow on the nose, with smoky and syrupy notes (dried apricots, jam) evolving into perfumed notes. The palate is fuller, with a structure built on alcohol rather than acidity, which adds a certain sweetness.
90 points
Viña Soledad Tête de Cuvée Gran Reserva 1982 Blanco. Amber colour. Crème brûlé over a lively herbal background. Juicy palate with lemon honey candy and vibrant acidity leading to a lingering finish with lots of herbs that add depth and an aromatic dimension –like stepping into a pharmacy. One of my favourite vintages.
94 points
Viña Soledad Tête de Cuvée Reserva 1995 Blanco. I tasted two bottles of this wine, one in Madrid and the other at the winery. The latter was a little subdued, with dusty aromas, smooth texture but a little short. The one I tasted in Madrid stood out for its juicy palate, with lively minty notes and a citrus character. It actually felt quite young.
85/93 points
Viña Soledad Tête de Cuvée Reserva 2006 Blanco. This is a more recent vintage (the wine was placed in barrels after fermentation rather than spending a year in tanks), but it was on release for a very short time as the winery moved on to 2009 due to its greater availability. This is a complex, serious wine that has evolved in a different way towards petrol notes and toasted nuances over a citrus background. On the palate it shows remarkable balance, mouthwatering acidity and feels really juicy. Outstanding, but in a different style.
94 points
Bordón Viña Sole Tête de Cuvée Reserva 2017 Blanco. The current release has a golden colour with candied citrus, creamy (vanilla), infusion (lemon verbena) and spicy aromas. On the palate it has a pleasant creamy texture, with toasty notes and the herbal, aromatic finish of previous vintages. The grapes come from three vineyards situated at around 680 metres elevation in Sojuela, a village in the Sierra de Moncalvillo mountains. The 65+-year-old vines are planted on an alluvial glacis with high limestone content.
92 points
