There’s a NEW Rioja, and representing that, here’s a whole other realm of 5-10 case lots of WHITES comparable to the greatest in the world, by up-and-coming producers that make just a barrel or two.

This year, an Antonio Galloni’s Vinous article titled The Many Riojas of Rioja: A Tale of Forking Paths confirmed what Agent Noir witnessed firsthand during his most recent visit: “Today, Rioja has two speeds. The first is set by the big producers who are responsible for the region’s worldwide fame and its association with extensive oak aging. The second is the more dynamic side, where producers display pride in their place of origin and stylistic choices, more interested in bringing out individual characters than adhering to an established style.”

Perhaps Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate explains this evolution (or revolution if you will) best with this example: “Rioja had a structure that might be closer to (old) Champagne than to any of the other regions from France, where large wineries would source grapes from small growers and produce branded wines, which would more often than not be blends. But just like Champagne changed from that single model to having more vignerons, that is also happening more and more in Rioja. These grape growers stopped selling their grapes or wines and started bottling and selling them themselves.”

They fascinatingly coexist and thrive today. The most established big producers continue to ratchet up quality, while the tiniest ones redefine the region’s potential of individual terroirs.

Sancha is the Don Quixote behind the new Rioja movement, no doubt. Per Decanter “Rioja owes much to university professor/vigneron Juan Carlos Sancha for his recuperation of rare varieties.” He is one of the architects behind the rigorous and official Viñedos Singulares designation to set the most distinct wines of the region apart and has saved many indigenous varietals from the brink of extinction, like this fine example of Maturana Blanca.

This is all we were allocated. What you see is what you get.

No ratings for this vintage, but for a previous one Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate wrote “Juan Carlos Sancha has a small project in Baños de Río Tobía (Rioja Alta), one of the coolest zones of Rioja. He has 16 hectares of organically farmed vineyards from which he produces 63,000 bottles spread over 15 different labels. The vines were planted 23 years ago, the oldest in Rioja, as Sancha was involved in the recovery of the variety on terraces at 565 meters in altitude in the Najerilla Valley. The must fermented in 500-liter new French oak barrels, where it matured for five months with lees. But the wine is not oaky and has a fruit-driven profile, with contained ripeness, some austerity, not terribly aromatic and with a round palate and very good freshness, and there’s even a salty twist in the finish. When tasting wines like this, I think of Maturana Blanca as the Godello from Rioja…”