News

Frank Gehry must annoy a lot of Spaniards. With the possible exception of Penelope Cruz, no person today gets more ink in foreign articles about the country than the California-based architect and his twisted metal masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

Gehry's stamp on Spain wouldn't be so irritating had he actually been born there instead of Toronto, or if Spain hadn't produced Antoni Gaudi, the genius known as "God's architect" whose playfully twisted façades are a far better cause for visiting the country.

Besides, I think there's a more interesting museum to the south of Bilbao. Well, I call it a museum. Most people would call it a wine region.

If you know the least bit about Spanish wine, you are familiar with Rioja, a couple of hours north of the central capital of Madrid. To visit some of the traditional-minded bodegas, or wineries, is to feel like you've discovered the wine region that time forgot.

Often called the Bordeaux of Spain, the region is best known for cellar-worthy reds based on the tempranillo grape. Many Riojas, in fact, taste old even before they've had a chance to make it to the cellar. That's because nowhere else in Spain, and arguably nowhere else in the world, are table wines allowed to mature for so long in oak barrels before release. Patient producers, who presumably do not employ accountants, have been known to wait more than 20 years before bottling. That's in contrast to the more common one or two years for a red in most of the world.

Those extra years in wood - typically used barrels, which impart a more subtle oak flavour - allow the wines to slowly mingle with oxygen, transforming the primary flavours of fresh fruit into secondary nuances of leather, tobacco and dried fruit.

The result is a style that was more common in the rest of the world before modern winemaking techniques - such as the addition of sulphur dioxide to guard against oxidation and the use of refrigerated fermentation tanks to preserve fruitiness - enabled winemakers to produce fresher, cleaner-tasting wines. As your 16-year-old might say, the Riojans know how to kick it old-school.

If you want to crack open a potable time capsule, check out almost any Rioja, be it red or white, from classic producers R. Lopez de Heredia or Marques de Murrieta. (Yes, even the white wines of Rioja, typically based on the local viura grape, tend to be strangely tangy and nutty from exposure to oxygen while in barrel.)

But like most other wine regions in Spain, Rioja is in flux. A modernist school is in ascension, led by such producers as Palacio y Hermanos and Marques de Caceres. These wineries tend to prefer a shorter aging period, which yields cleaner, fresher wines. They also are deploying more new oak, which imparts a vanilla-creaminess that many consumers and wine critics love.

In response, even some old-guard producers are tweaking their style to attract attention, the way the industrial city of Bilbao did with the flashy, deconstructivist Guggenheim. Several wines released today in Ontario as part of a tribute to Spain reflect that evolution quite deliciously - sometimes with the old and new styles apparent in the same bottle.

Marques de Murrieta Ygay Rioja Reserva 2002 ($31.95, product No. 982322) is a fetching example of the two styles coming together. There's plenty of juicy acidity to support the core cherry-liqueur flavour in this medium full-bodied red, complemented by nuances of cigar tobacco and cedar. It's classic, but fresh and lively.

Muga Reserva Seleccion Especial 2003 ($40.95, No. 921536) is terrific too, and available in tiny quantities in British Columbia ($44.99). Aged for 30 months in barrel and a further year in bottle, it offers up an earthy core of mushroom and notes of cherry and plum.

White Rioja is very much an acquired taste. On the one hand, it has a sherry-like nuttiness, but on the other it lacks dry sherry's racy and invigorating tang as well as sweet sherry's balancing sugar.

But if you do know and like white Rioja, or simply are an adventurous drinker, check out Leza Garcia Barrel Fermented Rioja 2006 ($15.95, No. 039818). Medium-bodied and fairly rich, it has a buttery-oily texture and a pronounced woody-herbal character underpinned by a fruity core.

South of Rioja, but still north of Madrid, is the Ribera del Duero. More fashionable with modern-minded wine lovers, this region also specializes in the tempranillo grape, though its local genetic variant is better known as tinto fino. Two of Spain's most celebrated wines, Pesquera and the ultraexpensive Vega Sicilia, hail from the Ribera del Duero, where the reds tend to be heftier than in Rioja, thanks in part to the addition of cabernet sauvignon and grenache to the blend.

And here, too, things are barrelling into the future, with generally shorter aging periods and extensive use of new oak.

For an excellent take on the modern Spanish style, don't miss the best red of today's Ontario release, Emilio Moro 2004 ($32.95, No. 013987). Full-bodied, rich and creamy, it has a dense core of fruit underpinned by notes of minerals and earth. The finish is warm and liqueur-like, understandable given its 14.5-per-cent alcohol. If you want to serve it tonight rather than wait a recommended seven or eight years, pair it with steak.

Rioja and the Ribera del Duero are not, however, the best places to look for Spain's new bargains. A more inviting area in that regard is in and around Catalonia, surrounding Barcelona in the northeast.

There's a very good organic red in today's Ontario release called Celler Pinol Sacra Natura 2005 ($21.95, No. 030171). It comes from the Terra Alta southwest of Barcelona. A modern blend of carignan, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and tempranillo, it's medium full-bodied, warm and rich with plum and peppery spice, framed in a layer of fine tannins and finishing with a slightly bitter grip.

Another good red choice is Raimat Tempranillo 2003 ($17.95, No. 743039) from the Costers del Segre, due west of Barcelona. Fresh and fruity, it's full-bodied and slightly velvety, with flavours of dark fruits, bitter chocolate, vanilla and game.

Pick of the week

Emilio Moro 2004 ($32.95, No. 013987). Full-bodied, rich and creamy, this red has a dense core of fruit underpinned by notes of minerals and earth.

bcrosariol@globeandmail.com