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Lopez de Heredia (Vina Tondonia), Rioja

A trip to Tondonia is to understand the huge significance tradition and continuity can have on wine making. Over the last 50 years there have been great changes in Rioja and most wines made today bear little resemblance to wines made a generation ago. An exception to this are the wines of Tondonia. They avoid modern wine making shortcuts and stay true to their own time-honoured method of wine production.

When you walk around the Tondonia winery you are struck by how little has changed: I have watched them making their own barrels – the only wine maker to do so in Spain. Temperature is controlled during fermentation by the opening and closing of doors rather than through refrigeration. Little has changed, but this is not a quaint cottage industry; it is a serious winery run by an extraordinarily knowledgeable family who are passionate about the wines they produce. Their wines stand out from the crowd because they could not be made anywhere else; that’s one of the reasons they are so special.

Eric Texier, Rhône, Brézème

Eric trained under Jean-Marie Guffens in Mâcon , a wine maker for whom I have great regard. He began biodynamic winemaking in 2001 and became certified in 2003. While making wines in several areas his main focus was on the small and little known appellation of Brézème in the north Rhone. Historically the appellation rivalled the great wines of hermitage 100 years ago. Sadly however by 1961 a mere 1ha remained under vines.
Eric is widely regarded as the leading wine maker in the region and while he follows biodynamic principles he is not a slave to the movement. Sulphite is used only at bottling and so qualifies under that rather nebulous banner of ‘Natural wines’

Veronica Ortega, Bierzo, Spain

Veronica Ortega was born in Cadiz in Southern Spain. Her first interest in wine developed through the first wine of her region – Sherry. She went on to work in Priorat  for Daphne Glorian (Clos Erasmus) and Alvaro Palacios. She spent time in New Zealand & Burgundy learning about viticulture. In Burgundy she worked at Comte Armand & Domaine de Romanee Conti. After a further 2 years gaining experience in the Northern Rhône she moved to Bierzo in Spain to set up on her own. Her first four vintages were vinified in the cellar of Raul Perez. Since 2014 she has had her own space to make wine.

The region of Bierzo has a long tradition of wine making and is interesting  for its geographical location and strong  Atlantic  influence. Veronica has old Mencia vines in her vineyards and is creating new and exciting wines with these

Olivier Riviere

Olivier Rivière, a native of Cognac, studied enology in Montagne St-Emilion, worked briefly with Elian Da Ros in Côtes-du-Marmandais, then at Domaine Leroy in Vosne-Romanée. His main interest there was to learn about biodynamic methods. He went on to Domaine de Chassorney in St-Romain to see how unsulfited wines are made, then spent two years managing the now defunct Domaine de la Combe in Pommard.

His grapes come from three types of soils: the Graciano vines and part of the Tempranillo for the bottling of Rayos Uva grow on alluvial soils, sandy with round stones; the old vines Garnacha (65 to 90 years) that go into Ganko grow on red soil, with marl and sand colored by ferrous oxides, at an altitude of 600 meters in Rioja Alta; the best Tempranillo vines (25 years old) are in Rioja Alavesa, on clay and limestone soils at 650 meters. Altitude is extremely important to Rivière, the cool nights keep acidity in the grapes, so he can make much fresher wines than most in the region.

Telmo Rodriguez, Rioja & Ribera del Duero

Telmo Rodriguez is one of the finest Spanish winemakers. Telmo travelled and learnt for many years, perfecting his craft and gaining international recognition before returning home to his family winery in Rioja: Remelluri had always made wines of the highest quality, but this was further enhanced with the return of the prodigal son. In addition he supervises projects throughout Spain and makes superb wines in each location. One of his most acclaimed projects is in Ribera del Duero where he makes wines at Matallana which are amongst the best in the region.

Telmo’s vision of the future of the Remelluri estate is centered around a focus on place. He is changing the focus from one of aging methods, and even varietals, to one of sites. As the estate reclaims vineyard sites, Telmo is handpicking the varietals best suited to the specific microclimate of each plot. He is also refocusing on old trellis styles, such as bush vine training. All plots are vinified separately.

Bodegas Alto, Ribera del Duero

Bodegas Aalto is one of the most important projects to emerge from Spain in recent years. Since Mariano Garcia and Javier Zaccagnini joined forces in 1999, the winery has acquired some of the best vineyards in Ribera del Duero which are spread through a number of sub-regions such as Valladolid & Burgos. These estates have been carefully planted with old clones of Tinto Fino (ie. Tempranillo adapted to Ribera del Duero’s climate).

Rene Barbier, Priorat

Rene Barbier was one of the founding members of the Gratallops group that managed to put their small corner of Priorat on the map because of the quality of the wines they were producing. They used local grape varieties like Cannena blended with imported French varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon. They were largely responsible for the elevation of Priorat to DOC status, the highest wine classification in Spain. Rene established his Clos Mogador estate in 1982.

I climbed through the vineyards with Rene which all have to be worked manually as they are so steeply terraced.  I was interested to hear about the biodynamic methods he is using in the vineyards: These sound curious but clearly produce great wine as I found later at a tasting with Rene.

Enric Soler, Penedes

Enric is an ex sommelier from Il Bulli who is making wines at his estate Cal Raspallet. I visited him in 2016 and was excited to see what he is managing to achieve with his old Xarel-lo vines. Xarel-lo was traditionally used in the making of Cava, but Enric was one of the first to explore its potential in the making of still wine. He has vines which are up to 60 years old with very low yields. He vineyards are cultivated using biodynamic principles and this is integral to his wine making philosophy.

Artuke, Rioja Alvasia

Since 1991 Miguel & Conchi Blanco have been making wines under the Artuke name: This  is derived from the names of their two sons Arturo & Kike who are also involved in the family business. Bodegas Artuke is a 22 hectare  estate in Banos de Ebro, Rioja Alavesa. This region is cooler than other parts of Rioja due to the influence of the Atlantic breeze.

The Blanco’s make wine outside of the strict DOC controls in Rioja as they believe it allows them to express the wines origins and purity of fruit more clearly. This is a huge risk for a winemaker but I think it has really paid off. Artuke consists of five separate sites where grapes are grow. Each has a different soil type and altitude and each of their wines are distinctive and represent their place of origin.

Claus Preisinger, Burgenland Austria

Wine is in the blood of Claus Preisinger: He comes from a wine making family, studied Oenology at school and college then trained at wineries in Austria, Italy and California. Today he makes wine from a scenic location on the edge of Lake Neusiedl, with 18 hectares of vines spread between three separate villages. All his sites are farmed according to biodynamic principles. He focuses on indigenous varieties such as Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, Weissburgunder and St Laurent.

Claus’s approach to wine making is very much about minimum intervention in the vineyard and the winery. His mantra is ‘pure, natural and low-tech’ and that is what attracted us to his wines. His wines are a pure expression of the grapes and soil they are grown in but are far from simple.

Arnaldo Caprai, Umbria, Italy

“One of the greatest pleasures in my professional life over the past fifteen years has been the discovery of the wines of Marco Caprai and, through him, the tremendous potential of Sagrantino, at the time a totally unknown grape which no one, even in the wildest stretch of his imagination, could have ever considered a variety capable of giving some of Italy’s greatest wines. Some of Italy’s most important professionals work here”. Robert Parker
His latest mission is “Montefalco 2015: The New Green Revolution.” Started in 2010, Caprai’s goal is to produce a sustainable viticulture protocol, specific to his region and his indigenous grapes, which can be used as a model for others. The protocol focuses on farming techniques, including biodynamic and organic methods. Caprai is also an active member of Symbola—the Foundation for Italian Quality, an important group of entrepreneurs dedicated to promoting Italian excellence.
For all these lofty accomplishments, Wine Enthusiast is pleased to name Arnaldo Caprai our 2012 European Winery of the Year Wine Enthusiast

Les Deux Cols, Rhône

For the past 10 years Simon Tyrrell and Charles Derain have been working with one of the most progressive and respected Co-ops in France, Cave d’Estezargues based in the Southern Rhone near Avignon. The Co-operative’ began a small revolution in the ‘Co-op’ world in 1995. The ten growers began a program of vinifying their wines from the best sites, separately. This evolved further when they became one of the first, if not the first, to follow largely ‘natural’ processes in their wine making. They opted to use natural yeasts and followed organic practices. Wherever and whenever possible they shunned filtering and fining of the wine.
Late in 2016 I joined up with Simon and Charles in a new project. We purchased a small 6h/a site near St Nazaire within the Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP), Cotes du Rhone. The three of us share an interest in wines that are not manipulated and are ‘of the land’.
After several years we were lucky to locate this small plot on an elevated site, 220 metres. It is surrounded on four sides by forest renowned for wild boar and wild mushrooms. The vines range in age with the oldest being 70yrs. The soils are a rare mix of limestone, loess, sand and clay. The combination of these factors will help us achieve our goal of making wines with finesse and lower alcohol levels. When we acquired the vineyard, it was in poor condition and we have embarked on a careful regeneration of the vineyard, without chemical treatments. We hope to have completed the important aspects, replanting, fertilizing, cutting back invasive tree roots and moving large amounts of soil by the start of the 2018 growing season.
In this our first year we are already following organic principles. Our vines are largely Grenache and Syrah with some Carignan and very old white vines of Bourboulenc and Clairette.
Our first vintage is in barrel and is showing great promise.

Gerard Maguire