Spectacular 93+ Pt (WA) Rioja

A WINE THAT TRANSCENDS ITS PRICE’ – Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“Husband and wife team Oscar Alegre and Eva Valgañón strive to recapture the magic of an earlier Rioja era – before phylloxera and before the Bordelais arrived. They are among the dedicated winemakers who are reinvigorating their region’s traditions in the face of ‘modern’ or ‘international’ winemaking. They follow an earlier tradition that featured viticulture and winemaking on a far smaller scale, allowing vine-by-vine attention to fruit quality, and the inclusion of stems during fermentation and shorter time in larger barrels. Because Oscar and Eva’s quest was to develop a wine that’s a product of their land, they chose to minimize the effect of wood. To this end, they have a mix of used French barriques and demi-muids.

Today we have the 93+ point 2021 Alegre Valgañón Rioja Tinto. This Rioja is a true example of terroir; the team at Alegre Valgañón really let the wine just speak for itself. It’s a classic Rioja that drinks way above its price point with complex notes of red berries, orange peels, dried herbs and subtle floral aromas. Not too heavy and not too light, it’s the perfect red wine to kick off the spring! Oscar has said, ‘We are not trying to make the greatest wine in Rioja. We only want to make a true wine—a wine that shows off our land, and all the knowledge that we’ve inherited from earlier generations.’ I believe that Oscar’s and Eva’s project ranks among the most exciting in Rioja today and this wine is a great way to check them out!” – Eduardo Bolaños, The Wine House

93+ Points: “The 2021 Tinto, produced with 75% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 5% white grapes, is serious and austere, produced with grapes from cooler parts of Rioja to achieve freshness and aging potential without having to resource to very long aging in barrel (this was in barrels and foudres of different ages and sizes for some 16 months). It opened up with time in the glass to a medium to full-bodied palate with very fine tannins and a clean, long and tasty, almost salty finish. It's a wine that transcends its price. 25,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2023. Drink Date: 2024 – 2030” – Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (February 2024)

FROM THE IMPORTER

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Alegre Valgañón is located in Rioja’s far west, with vineyards around the villages of Fonzaleche, and Sajazarra, and Galbárruri. Situated at the base of the Obarenes Mountains, the sub-zone is among the coolest in Rioja, and many of Rioja’s most esteemed names long sourced Tempranillo for their top blends there. No artificial fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides are employed, and harvesting is done by hand.

Established: 2010
Proprietors/Winemakers: Oscar Alegre and Eva Valgañón
Appellation: Rioja
Soils: Limetone-rich clay with sand. Sandstone (and sand) become bigger components in vineyards closer to the mountain bases.
Rioja Tinto: 75% Tempranillo from the Obarenes zone, and 25% Garnacha from Cárdenas
Winemaking: Fermented with ~ 25% stems in large wood, concrete and steel tanks. Macerations last roughly 30 days. Aged for 18 months in a mix of used barrels ranging in size from bocoi to foudre.

Old vineyards in the shadow of the Obarenes Mountains provide fruit from the coolest and freshest part of Rioja, yielding wines with a higher level of refinement and aromatics.

Like many artisan winemakers in Europe, Alegre y Valgañón focus on farming small plots with serious viticulture. They believe in whole bunch fermentations with longer macerations and aging in large, neutral wood.

TRADITIONAL RIOJA
A decade or so ago, Traditional Rioja seemed to be on the verge of extinction, beaten into submission by the “International” winemaking trend that has swept the region for more than thirty years.

But, today, Traditional Rioja is making a strong comeback, as connoisseurs come to realize that the sumptuous CUNE Viña Reals and Lopez Tondonias and Bosconias from the 1940s to the 1970s are among the planet’s greatest wine treasures. And the recent rise to stardom of the relatively young, but staunchly traditional, Hermanos Peciña, offers compelling evidence of the world’s growing love affair with Rioja as it was once made.

Yet, it’s often forgotten that what we know as “Traditional Rioja” is less than 150 years old, having been created in the wake of Phylloxera in the late 1800s. Before that, an earlier tradition flourished that featured viticulture and winemaking on a far smaller scale, allowing vine-by-vine attention to fruit quality, and the inclusion of stems during fermentation and shorter time in larger barrels.

Since 2014, the husband-wife team of Oscar Alegre and Eva Valgañón have embraced this even more ancient tradition. By working strictly with tiny lots, they are turning out head-spinning reds and whites that capture the best of their beloved land’s 1,000+ year history. And, their wines informed by this ancestral wisdom, are offering something unique in today’s Rioja landscape.