The Rioja house of Ramón Bilbao is one of the region’s most innovative. Though established almost 100 years ago by Don Ramón Bilbao Murga, the appointment of Rodolfo Bastida as winemaker in 1999 heralded a period of change. Not only did the company join the burgeoning movement away from the oak-dominated style to a fresher, more expressively fruity Rioja, but Bastida (pictured) introduced an approach much more focused on terroir.
This online tasting with Rodolfo introduced two Rioja wines called Límite Sur and Límite Norte, from two extremes of their vineyard locations, South and North of the region. In the north, vineyards around Cuzcurrita del Río Tirón sit at around 550 – 660 metres altitude in one of the coolest spots of Rioja. The pebble-strewn vineyard is on the edge of the ripening zone, and produces the white wine, Límite Norte. It is a blend of the more herbal, high acid Maturana Blanca, and Tempranillo Blanco, a white mutation of the dark skinned Tempranillo first discovered in the 1980s.
The red wine from the south also has altitude, sited in the Sierra de Yerga. The Alto Cidacos vineyards here lie between 500 and 750 metres, but with lower rainfall and more sunshine hours than the north. The wine is made from Garnacha grown here.
So, site and grape variety were part of the DNA of the wines being tasted here, but the tasting also looked at winemaking, and specifically at how components aged in three different types of vessel affect the wine.
As well as the finished wines from the 2018 and 2019 vintages, we would taste three separate components that will make up the final blend of both the white and red wines from 2021: one aged in amphora, one in concrete tank, and one in 600-litre french oak barrels. For the finished wines, these components are assembled after six months, in different proportions, before a further ageing period of around six months in smaller, French oak barriques of 225 litres.
The Samples
Límite Norte (Rioja Blanco) 2021 components
Aged in concrete tank. Clean, relatively neutral stone fruit and lighter floral and creamy aromas. Juicy blend of citrus and nectarine fruit.
Aged in amphora. A little more reserved than the concrete, less floral but feels quite concentrated. Tangy dry and quite citrus-pithy on the palate.
Aged in 500-litre barrel. No overpowering oak aroma, just a slightly more open feel to this, creamy pear and citrus. Sharply-defined citrus finish.
Límite Sur (Rioja Tinto) 2021 components
Aged in concrete tank. Fresh, floral, but also has a sense of meatiness. Spices plus red and black fruits. Fully expressive, rich palate.
Aged in amphora. A slightly more bittersweet, liquorice character perhaps. A little leaner and possibly fresher, more grippy feeling.
Aged in 500-litre barrel. The vanillin oak marks this more obviously than the white, fruit sweetness seems to be enhanced with chocolaty underpinning.
Wines sound worth exploring given their price to scoring ratio. Are they not following the usual classifications of Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva?
Paul, I’mm 99% certain they are classified as generic Rioja, not Crianza, Reserva, etc. but I don’t have a bottle here to double check and the producer web site doesn’t mention.