September 16, 2021 will remain as a historic date for Rioja wine, since for the first time a Riojan brand is sold from now on through the
Place de Bordeaux
, that
historic market
formed 800 years ago by
Bordeaux
merchants
and dedicated to commercialize all the
grands crus
of the most famous wine-growing area in the world, from Petrus to Haut-Brion. The Spanish wine that enters the
place
is
Yjar 2017
, the work of the renowned
winemaker and winemaker Telmo Rodríguez.
Rodríguez presents the great red in which he has been working
for the last decade
, with the utmost discretion, made from a historic and exceptional vineyard, with
grand cru
characteristics
, located on the slopes of the
Sierra de Toloño
(Rioja Alavesa) .
We have gone to
Telmo itself
to know the details of this wine whose
secret has been so jealously guarded
or even its jump to Bordeaux, and highlights that "it is not by chance that exceptional wines come from vineyards with unique characteristics, and this case is not a exception".
Located on the slopes of the
Sierra de Toloño
-at an altitude of between 600 and 800 meters above sea level- this historic property has a privileged location, since on the limestone soils of the triangle that form the towns of Labastida, San Vicente and Peñacerrada are home to some of the
most exceptional old vineyards in Rioja Alavesa
.
The vineyard.
Of course, here the wine-making activity is not new: among the old vineyards there are
cave presses dug into the rock
, dating from the 8th to the 12th century, which attest to the long tradition of the local people in winemaking. But the most remarkable thing about the farm is its extensive, well-documented history. At least since 1420, when the
Hieronymite monks abandoned the sanctuary of Toloño
and the Nuestra Señora de Herremelluri farm, assuming the management of these properties - and others in the environment - the Divisa de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Toloño.
The currency's boom lasted five centuries, and various historical events - the War of Independence, the first Carlist War and the Mendizábal Confiscation - caused its decline.
Although it was the fire of the monastery, in 1838, which ultimately determined
the end of the brotherhood and the abandonment of those lands
.
It took more than 100 years
for the activity to return to this enclave of Rioja Alavesa, thanks to the Rodríguez family who, in the 1960s, acquired the property and dedicated the rest of the 20th century - and a few more years - to
recovering the wine culture
on a farm with exceptional conditions to produce quality wines.
Since the new owners applied themselves to the work of
recovering the vineyard
, throughout half a century, the nuances and singularities have gradually reappeared, exhibiting all the
richness, complexity and diversity
that it treasures.
In the last decade, with the arrival of the new generation of the family, new resources were implemented, developing the work with greater depth and intensive knowledge, which gave even
more value to this exceptional vineyard,
which combines the characteristics of an authentic
grand cru
.
The winemaker and winemaker Telmo Rodríguez.
Glass-pruned, this 3.8-hectare high-altitude vineyard, where the five varieties that make up the Yjar blend grow (
Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, Grand Noir and Rojal
), is the basis of this project.
The soils are deep, enriched with abundant alluvial material from the Sierra de Toloño and with a high concentration of carbonates and scree.
Alkaline, they do not limit root growth and are
ideal for supplying water
to the vineyard throughout the vine cycle.
As a result of the effort that the recovery of an exceptional vineyard has required, so that it offers the expression of a privileged territory, Yjar is not only a great wine. It is a
double mirror
, in which two paradigms are reflected: on one side, the
beginnings of modern viticulture in Rioja
, worshiping the figure of
Manuel Quintano
, who in 1787 produced the first "modern" Rioja in Labastida; on the other side, it reflects its
contemporary vocation
, incorporating marginalized varieties in the region's vineyard, boldly betting on new forms of commercialization.
This is how Telmo Rodríguez himself understands it: "Yjar will be important for our country, it
opens another era and talks about our wines in a cultured
, historical way and with the same language as the best wines in the world."
Yjar's 2017 vintage has produced
7,200 bottles
, the retail price of which has been announced at
110 euros
.
Traditionally dominated by the offer of local châteaux, the Bordeaux market, which concentrates more than 300
merchants
and buyers from 170 countries, in recent years has been opening up to wineries from other regions and countries.
Trained as a winemaker in Bordeaux, Telmo Rodríguez had
Bruno Prats, Eloi Durrbach and Gerard Chave
as mentors
, who opened his spirit to the world of great wines. The radical approach that he would later have to the Spanish wine heritage is undoubtedly due to the inspiring experience with these masters.
Upon returning to Spain, he joined his family's winery in Rioja and, in the early 1990s, started
his own project
with
Pablo Eguzkiza
: the Telmo Rodríguez Wine Company.
With the argument of valuing the great potential and diversity of the Spanish vineyard, Telmo was a pioneer in
recovering authentic terroirs
in different wine regions, always respecting their autochthonous varieties and original viticulture methods, recovering forgotten vineyards from which
iconic wines are born today.
like O Diviso and Falcoeira in Valdeorras or Las Beatas and Tabuérniga in Rioja.
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