Revisting tried and true Rioja (#worldwinetravel)

Season’s greetings!

No matter the size of your holiday gathering this year, you’ve probably saved your best and most expensive wine for the occasion. Sure, that makes sense.

But the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is long, especially for parents of young children or maybe those families whose in-laws are hanging around for a few days. In either case, you’re going to need more wine.

Spain to the rescue!

If you’re looking for quality at an incredibly low price point, Spain is the place to go. For a long time, the quality of Spanish wines lagged behind international competitors, but investments in the latest technology have improved winemaking nationwide.

This year, the new World Wine Travel (#worldwinetravel) group of intrepid bloggers has been hopscotching across Spain’s diverse wine regions in search of high-quality Spanish wine. To wrap up the yearlong quest, we’re taking an “open mic” approach in the final month of our tasting adventures. That means we can choose a wine from anywhere in Spain. See the bottom of this post for links to other blogs.

The LAN Rioja Crianza I’m featuring this month is a wine that chose me. There it was, stacked neatly at the end of a Whole Foods shopping aisle, its bright red label beckoning me. Though I’d sampled the wine a year and a half ago, when the topic was Rioja and barbecue, I couldn’t resist revisiting this tried-and-true red wine.

Let’s talk about Rioja

Located in northcentral Spain, Rioja (or “La Rioja”) is one of Spain’s most renowned wine regions.

In the late 19^th century, when French vineyards were being ravaged by the phylloxera pest, Rioja attracted the attention of wine connoisseurs looking for a Bordeaux substitute. Bordeaux winemakers who had settled in Rioja were having early successes making wine from native grapes such as Tempranillo. But Rioja’s remoteness from major markets was hampering their success. Construction of a railway solved this problem, and new bodegas (wine shops) soon began to open for business.

Phylloxera eventually spread to Rioja vineyards, but by then, the Bordeaux style had made its mark.

Rioja has 145 municipalities (villages) where grapes are grown: 77 in Rioja Alta, 50 in Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja) and 18 in Rioja Alavesa. Generally, the best red Rioja wines are from Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. In these higher-elevation subregions, the climate is moderated by Mediterranean breezes that waft up the Ebro River valley, while the Cantabrian Mountains protect vineyards from the worst of the weather systems moving east from the Atlantic Ocean. Warm, sunny summers and milder winters are the norm.

Rioja wines are classified according to how long they’re aged:

• Rioja (formerly “Joven,” meaning young in Spanish) – Little or no oak aging and most likely a blend of grapes from all three subregions.
• Crianza – Aged a total of two years, with at least one year in barrels for reds and six months in barrels for whites/rosés.
• Reserva – Aged a total of three years for reds, with at least one year in barrels and six months in bottles; two years for white/rosés, with six months in barrels.
• Gran Reserva –Aged a total of five years for reds, with at least two years in barrels and two years in bottles; five years for white/rosés, with at least six months in barrels. These wines have great aging potential.
• Gran Añada (for sparkling wines) – Agedat least three years on the lees. This is a new category added in 2018.

The wine: 2017 LAN Crianza, Rioja DOC
96% Tempranillo, 4% Mazuelo (known as Carignan outside of Spain)

Founded in 1972, LAN is an acronym for the three provinces that make up Rioja: Logroño, Alava and Navarra. LAN’s 178 acres of vineyards stretch along the meandering Ebro River, on the border between Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa.

Grapes for this wine are grown in chalky-clay soils in both Rioja Alta and Rioja Alvesa, on well-drained slopes with good sun exposure. After de-stemming, the grapes are lightly crushed and fermented on their skins in stainless steel tanks for 15 days. The juice is pumped over the cap of skins continuously for maximum color extraction. This wine is aged 12 months in hybrid oak barrels, followed by nine months in bottle.

According to the winery, “we are pioneers in the research and use of mixed barrels: a combination of American oak staves, which bring elegant notes of vanilla, and French oak heads, which result in spicy aromas.”

Tasting notes and pairings:  Transparent ruby with garnet rim. Aromas of ripe red cherry, raspberry and cranberry. The spouse also picked up coffee and chocolate. Palate is earthy, with cherry and spicy notes upfront and a hint of steeped tea, ending in tart cranberry and a touch of vanilla. Medium+ acid. Medium+ finish. Alcohol: 13.5% Price: $12.99. Reliable, easy-to-find choice for a week of leftovers, pan of lasagna or anything else cheesy and meaty.

I focused, this time, on Tapas-style dishes.

• Spanish-style meatballs (albondigas en salsa) – Most Spanish meatball recipes call for flouring and frying the meatballs. I took a healthier approach by skipping the flour and baking the meatballs at 425F for 10-15 minutes, then adding them to the sauce to finish cooking. I also used 100% grass-fed ground beef. To get the spicy and smoky flavor of chorizo, I added a minced chipotle chile and a tbsp. of adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce) to both the meatballs and the sauce. Please note these are two different recipes. Altogether, my albondigas en salsa had the right amount of sweetness (from diced carrots) and chili heat without overwhelming the Rioja.

• Spanish rice – This recipe checked all the flavor boxes for me. I used chicken stock, rather than vegetable stock, because that’s what I had in my pantry. I also added my new favorite ingredient: a minced chipotle chile and tbsp. of adobo sauce. So yummy and another winner with the Rioja. Crianza tends to be a fruitier Rioja than more aged styles; that will work to your advantage when pairing it with dishes that have some chili heat. That said, I wouldn’t go crazy on the chilis!

As promised, here’s what the other #worldwinetravel bloggers are posting this month. Enjoy!

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm is getting in the spirit wIth “Merry Christmas; Let’s Celebrate with Cava“
• Deanna from Wineivore is comparing “Albarino from Monterrei vs. Monterey + Monterey Bay Cioppino“
• Susannah from Avvinare shares “VIlla Conchi Cava + Paella to Celebrate the Holidays”
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass will be “Revisiting tried and true Rioja“
• Terri from Our Good Life shares “5 Great Wines from Spain Perfect for Gift Giving“
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! is confessing “Shh! Cream Sherry is My Guilty Pleasure“
• Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog is “Commemorating Setbacks and Success with Bodegas Tradición Palo Cortado VORS|“
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley will be sharing “5 Garnacha from Spain with Spicy Spanish Pairings”
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest is “Ending the Year with Wine Family Suertes del Marqués in Tenerif“
• Nicole from Somm’s Table will be “Re-introducing Cava!”
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla is pairing “Mushroom Soup with Manzanilla Sherry“
• David from Cooking Chat is pairing “Steak with Carrot Top Chimichurri and Spanish Wine“