Marqués de Riscal was the original Bordeaux-style bodega; prior to the
1860s, winemaking in La Rioja was a far more rustic, homespun, home-drinking
affair. But with the tables of Europe then deprived of the best French wines after
the ravages of phylloxera, the way was open for Spanish wine to step into the
breach, and with Spain still being a very feudal society, it was the nobility
who led the way; in 1860, the Marquis of Riscal opened what to this day is one
of the benchmark bodegas of the region.
As an aside, although it is sometimes said
that in what are now old-school Rioja bodegas one can find echoes of
pre-phylloxera French winemaking, this is not quite true; the méthode bordelaise never
depended on such long aging of wines in American oak, which quickly became the
Rioja norm, the método riojano.
For most of its history, Riscal has been
one of the “reference Riojas”, but during a period between the mid 1970s and
the early 1980s the wines went through a very bad patch, largely due to some of
their casks having become tainted. In 1985, they scrapped 80 per cent of their
barrels and, as it were, re-booted the bodega.
This wine dates from the bad patch; it had
a high shoulder and came from an impeccable cellar, but was essentially
knackered. Other crianzas from the same period can still seem as fresh as a
daisy, but this feels old and decayed; there is the ghost of fruit and muted
mushroomy flavours, but not enough to balance the acidic finish. I can’t say it is entirely
without pleasure, but it is certainly not a good Rioja on top form.
