Description
Often referred to as “the Grand Cru of Rioja”, Bodega Roda is a landmark in the old Riojan city of Haro. From the underground drives to the dedicated, floor-heated malolactic cellar, everything Roda does speaks of precision and fastidious attention to detail. Fruit from each of its 17 vineyards is vinified separately and only after a year in barrel are decisions taken about the wines’ ultimate designation. Irrespective of this though, Roda’s ground-breaking R&D work on the phenolic maturity of Tempranillo means that all their wines are famed for their ethereal balance, elegance and finesse. From Sela through to their flagship Cirsion, the wines progress from the red-fruit spectrum to the black, all the while increasing in concentration and complexity, while retaining that signature finesse and balance.
The team at Roda are not merely dedicated, they are detail-obsessed. Perhaps the most impressive (mahogany-scented) winery you will ever see; everything is about the production and retention of grape quality – the modern approach to wine through viticulture is nowhere given more commitment. Fruit is from vineyards in excess of 30 years (some up to 80 years old), grown organically, aged in French barrels, neither filtered nor fined. Each vintage is made “on its merits” to reflect style of the vintage (rather than an application of a recipe). Aromatic, fresh red berry thru’ to black fruit, some dark chocolate and tar/roast meat underneath with fine silky tannins. Ooodles of class and sophistication in their fine reds.
Roda Reserva is based on a selection of Tempranillo which exhibits some red fruits and earth in the mix with the stricter, more structured blue-note Tempranillo which becomes Roda 1. This is a wine of great depth, tannin texture and class but in a relatively fruity and approachable register. This tendency towards open-hearted red fruit and earth is augmented with judicious blending, depending on the year, of some Garnacha and/or Graciano. Roda is grown from vines between 35-100 years’ age, all dry grown ‘en vaso’. Hand picked, hand everything, it is fermented in open foudre, gravity decanted to age 15 months in new+1yo French barrique, then gravity-decanted again for bottling (unfiltered, unfined) and cellar ageing before release. The garnacha component of Roda’s wines comes from separate vineyards in Rioja Baja, at Tuldelilla and Alcanadre.
The aroma of RODA is a fine cocktail of berry, bramble, spice, earth and licorice. As always with Roda, beautiful fruit tannins are a big part of the picture, and the tannin perfume (and mineral smells) are as much a feature of the wine as fruit itself. The palate is full, lined with spice, leavened with pippy acid and tannins that are at once round and fresh. The wine is open and alive, with harmony a real feature: red fruits are floral with a touch of tea; not too fruity, and perfectly lined by delicately spiced tannin. Limited
RRP $132
