Our first full day of the tour took us to the family estate of Santalba in the small village of Gimileo near Briones. Founded in 1999, the estate is now run by Laura and Roberto Ijalba – the second generation.
Laura met us outside for a brief overview of the estate and the philosophy of her father when creating the winery. They farm organically in their own vineyards as well as buying fruit from contract growers. The winery is very modern as you might expect given its age but Santalba has very clearly developed an innovative and pioneering approach to the wines it makes and the markets it has sought out.
This all became very clear in the tasting which was a selection of Riojas that people were not expecting. Sparkling Rioja made from 100% Viura was first – this is a relatively new category of Rioja and is important to distinguish from Cava which uses different grapes and has lower minimum ageing rules. A barrel fermented white was followed by a fascinating organic, unfined, unfiltered red that unleashed a raw, vibrant power. Their OGGA reserve is one of the top reds and deservedly so – oozing richness and quality. But then we finished with a Rioja Amaro – modelled on the Amarone of Veneto using dried grapes – this showed an unexpected side to Rioja. We rounded off with a semi sweet white – yet another side to Rioja that we weren’t anticipating.
From Santalba, it was just 20 minutes to Bodegas Lan – another relatively new estate that was founded in 1972. I have known Trinidad Villegas, the export sales director for many years, and she hosted our tour. Lan has the most extraordinary barrel cellar that is a marvel of technology and automation. Currently holding 19000 barrrels, it could easily hold double that – it is a magnificent cathedral of wine. We then tasted a Verdejo from their Rueda estate followed by two contrasting but excellent reds. The D12 aged in American and French oak; the Extreme aged in French oak only. The contrast was fascinating and illustrated the effect of oak – such an important component of Rioja. Then it was lunchtime of course. Fresh asparagus, grilled sea bass, steak and a chocolate tart was washed down with a Rias Baixas white, their delicious Vina Lanciano, the Gran Reserva and flagship Culmen Reserva.
Time for a brief rest on the coach back to Logroño before the Calle Laurel beckoned with its fabulous array of tapas bars.