The First Sparkling Wine to Earn Rioja’s Highest Distinction Is Bold, Effervescent, and Complex
If you love fine wine but also like to throw around your “limited edition” or “one of a kind” bona fides every now and then, a pioneering Rioja winery has released the ultimate rare wine. Conde Valdemar 2017 Finca Alta Cantabria Viñedo Singular Gran Añada is a unicorn among wines, as the first and so far, only bottling made under two recently introduced categories in Rioja, Viñedo Singular and Vinos Espumos, which translate to “unique vineyard” and “sparkling wine.” Gran Añada translates as “great vintage;” like many vintage sparkling wines this will only be made in exceptional years.
Viñedo Singular is not just a single vineyard, it is a “unique vineyard,” meaning the winery must prove to the Consejo Regulador de la Rioja, the regional wine authority, that their vineyard can produce a special wine worthy of the designation, and that the vineyard itself has notable and distinct qualities. While there are quite a few Tempranillo-based still red wines in the category, and several wineries produce sparkling wine, this is the only sparkling viñedo singular being made. The consejo has to approve the production up front, and then taste the wine before it is released. And the wine must be tasted every year before it is put on the market—this designation is not a blanket approval.
More from Robb Report
Despite Severe Drought in France, Champagne Had a Stellar Harvest This Year
Forget Champagne: 11 Superb New Sparkling Wines From Oregon--Yes, Oregon--to Toast Your Valentine
As there are no comparable wines in a region that boasts 567 wineries and the largest number of barrels in the world, the local authority’s tasting group first sampled Champagne to adequately judge the quality of Conde Valdemar’s new sparkling. Side-by-side, it more than held its own. “They were really astonished about the complexity of the wine,” technical director and winemaker Antonio Orte told Robb Report. “It’s not fair to compare because we don’t share the same grapes, climate, or soil—but in terms of quality we can be really proud of what we’ve made here.”
The unique vineyard in question, Finca Alto Cantabria, is a 28-acre estate that sits 374 feet above the city of Logroño in the heart of Rioja. Twenty-one acres are planted with Viura, one of Rioja’s main white varieties. Bodegas Valdemar founder Jesús Martínez Bujanda first planted the vineyard in 1975, and he says, “that at the time everyone thought I was crazy,” as Rioja was firmly red wine territory. Moderate altitude and rocky soils come together in a spot that turned out to be perfect for Viura, although it took a while for the combination of site and winemaking techniques to hit their stride. Bodegas Valdemar also makes a still Viura from the same site that is fermented in barrel. We tasted several vintages back to 1995 and were amazed at the complexity and freshness exhibited across the range.
The soils in the mountaintop vineyard are filled with rocks of all sizes, including many that appear to be snapped in half or even pulverized. Orte explained, “Some of them are broken in half because the roots have been doing their work, digging into the ground and breaking these rocks. Then you can see the reality of the mother rock beneath. It’s limestone, these are calcareous soils with a lot of carbonate, so if we compared the wine to other Viura in the area from different soil, we have an advantage here because the soils give freshness and salinity to the finished wine.”
Orte made Cava in Penedes before moving to Rioja and joining the team at Bodegas Valdemar, and when he first tasted the Viura from Finca Alto Cantabria he convinced the family to allow him to make a small amount of sparkling wine here. “We were already making a barrel-fermented white wine from this site,” Bujanda told Robb Report. “When Antonio said he wanted to make sparkling wine, at first, I thought it was nonsense, but we’re a little crazy, and now we have a one-of-a-kind sparkling wine that is clean, aromatic, and complex.”
With a forceful stream of bubbles, Conde Valdemar 2017 Finca Alta Cantabria Viñedo Singular Gran Añada has aromas of Granny Smith apple, lemon zest, and hazelnut. Flavors of apple and lemon transfer to the taste buds along with a sense of creaminess, bold effervescence, and notes of apricot, dried Mediterranean herbs, and a hint of honeysuckle. There is a palpable sense of mineral chalkiness on the side palate with a bright citrus wash on the finish. Only 2,050 bottles were made in total, with just 700 of those imported into the United States. Almost the entire first production run was sold out upon release, but a couple of cases have just been made available via madwine.com.
The inaugural sparkling Rioja Viñedo Singular is one in a string of many firsts. Since the founding of their first winery in 1889, five generations of the Martínez Bujanda family have been making history. From the start, they were pioneers in the promotion of Viura in Rioja. In 1987, Bodegas Valdemar was the first winery in Rioja to release a 100 percent varietal Garnacha Reserva, and just two years after that, they produced Rioja’s first barrel-fermented white wine. Since 2001, they have been pioneers in the recovery of the almost-extinct variety Maturana. In 2009 they made the first Tempranillo Blancowine, from a white mutation of the Tempranillo grape. In 2018 their newly renovated winery was the first all-ability inclusive winery in Spain and one year later they opened Valdemar Estates, the first non-American owned winery in Washington state. Today Señor Martínez Bujanda runs both wineries alongside his son, also named Jesús, and his daughter Ana Martínez Bujanda.
Best of Robb Report
Why a Heritage Turkey Is the Best Thanksgiving Bird—and How to Get One
The 10 Best Wines to Pair With Steak, From Cabernet to Malbec
Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
