Can you taste history in a glass of wine? Well, a wine from old vines is usually easy to recognize, and old vines are themselves pieces of history, so yes! Today’s gorgeous red from Conde de Hervías is undoubtedly a piece of history, while also being a cashmere-textured, unabashedly modern expression of Rioja.
Sourced from an heirloom vineyard containing “pre-phylloxera” plantings (some as old as 140+ years), today’s 2009 is the top of the line for owner Íñigo Manso de Zúñiga Ugartechea, a descendant of the Count (Conde) Don Nicanor Manso de Zúñiga, who’s credited with planting the vineyard in the 1860s. Called “Las Arenillas,” this site isn’t merely the jewel in the Conde de Hervías crown but a critical part of Riojan history: Thanks to its sandy soils, this vineyard escaped the phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800s, and was therefore a critical source of cuttings for replanting throughout the region. Now, you are likely wondering: Given this epic history, does the wine deliver? My answer is an unequivocal “yes,” and if you’re inclined, check out the voluminous praise the critics have heaped on it. Even at a decade of age this wine just getting started, luxuriously layered and long and poised to evolve further over the next decade-plus. The mixture of opulence and precision makes me think of bespoke tailoring, so if you’re looking for a cellar-worthy Rioja to add to your rotation, I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
The Conde de Hervías estate is headquartered in the village of Torremontalbo, which is situated about midway between Haro and Logroño in the La Rioja Alta subzone. Íñigo Manso de Zúñiga Ugartechea (a first-ballot selection for wine’s “All Name Team”), together with his wife, Yolanda Garcúa Viadero, organically farm an assortment of high-elevation plots situated around their spectacular home, which dates to the 13th century. This is a passion project through and through, with a focus on single-vineyard bottlings and long barrel and bottle aging before the wines are released for sale. The “Las Arenillas” site is the family’s pride and joy, obviously, and it has provided the material for newer vineyard plantings over the years—not to mention plantings initiated by other producers, who’ve been known to come knocking on Íñigo’s door in search of cuttings from Las Arenillas’ bush-trained, pre-phylloxera vines. That Íñigo obliges them is a great example of the goodwill that still exists in today’s wine world.
Íñigo studied Enology at the University of Bordeaux in France, where this training taught him to respect balance and restraint over power and concentration. Both he and Yolanda have spent a lifetime making wine in many diverse regions throughout Spain and apply the sum of their experience and passion to this artisan-scale project. Armed with incredible raw material from their heritage vineyards, their wines display serious depth and complexity at every level of their product range, but this “Conde” bottling is on another level: It is only produced in the best vintages and is so extravagantly flavorful it requires a long decanting and slow contemplation over the course of a great meal.
Comprised of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano sourced from Las Arenillas, the 2009 Conde de Hervías “Conde” was fermented on native yeasts in stainless steel vats and aged for 16 months in new French oak barrels. It is a richly textured, sleek Rioja, but you can feel the effects of these ancient vines in the form of great balance and freshness: It’s believed that old vines have a ‘regulatory’ effect on fruit maturation, helping to preserve acidity and prevent heat damage to the bunches. In the glass, the wine is an opaque ruby-purple with hints of garnet, with an explosive nose of black and blue fruits, toasty oak, and dusty earth. Aromas of cherry kirsch, blackberry, cassis, cocoa, tobacco and cedar carry over to a full-bodied palate that is as silky smooth as melted chocolate. The real magic of this wine is how it is so full-bodied but elegant at the same time, unfolding in layers and improving markedly with time in the glass. Try a bottle now but give it 45-60 minutes in a decanter before serving at 60-65 degrees in Bordeaux stems. This wine and a luxury cut of beef are the stuff closing dinners are made of—or, if you’re not a titan of industry, a memorable meal with family and friends. Hang onto a few bottles for consuming 5-15 years down the line, because the upside here is serious. Enjoy!
