Barrel ageing: The key to Rioja’s success?

French? American? Or both? Drop into any Rioja producer’s cellar and among the miles of barrels it would seem every winery is hedging bets, depending on customer preferences and house styles.

But how important is barrel ageing to the success of Rioja?

And are winemakers changing their approach to oak use in recent vintages to suit changing tastes?

Here, seven industry experts give their opinions on barrel ageing and its role in the success of Rioja.

Miguel Torres Maczassek, general manager, Torres

“Barrel ageing goes hand in hand with Rioja and you can see that very clearly in the DOCa Rioja regulations for barrel use in crianza, reserva and gran reserva wines. For sure barrel ageing has played an important role in the success of Rioja, but I would say it’s a combination of factors. Making quality wine depends on your vineyards (location, altitude, soil), the grape variety, the age of the vines, the climate, the equipment, but of course also the knowledge and experience of the winemaker. Moreover we should not forget that Rioja was one of the first DOs of Spain and during many decades promoted its wines so successfully that the DO itself turned into a brand.

“In general barrel ageing adds extra dimensions to a wine: the barrel allows great wines to better express their richness, softness, roundness and finesse; you could say the wine gains in complexity. Besides this aromatic contribution, we can also mention the micro-oxygenation that helps to soften the tannins, the stabilisation of colour and the longer ripening and storage potential.

“When we came to Rioja and released our first vintage of Ibericos – 2006 – we basically applied our normal Torres barrel-aging philosophy in our new bodega in Labastida (La Rioja Alavesa): for us this meant and means that oak should not overshadow the primary wine aromas and should be well integrated. We of course experimented with several types of oak and made different blends with grapes sourced from La Rioja Alavesa and La Rioja Alta. And in the end the best result we found was an Ibericos that was aged for 12 months in a mix of American and French oak, partly new barrels.

“Using French oak – and partly new oak – was not the most common thing to do in a crianza level wine. But it helped to make a contemporary Rioja wine that would pair really well with modern Spanish cuisine.”

Conrado Herrero Fernández, export manager, Bodegas Ontañon

“At Bodegas Ontañon we believe that oak ageing is a key part of Rioja’s signature identity. The caramel, chocolate and toasted aromas harmonise beautifully when a gran reserva has been aged correctly in an oak barrel.

“For us it’s especially important to invest in researching about the evolution of the wine in the barrel with different toast levels. A constant communication between the winery and cooperage is essential during the production, particularly as we want to uphold this tradition of oak use.

“Ontañon prioritises the respect for the environment and we have concerns over the natural scarcity of raw oak material. That’s why we have put into operation a research project about micro-oxygenation potential and optimising the organoleptic features of the barrels where a gran reserva wine has been aged. The hogshead stave of a barrel can be sanded down and this allows us to double the life of an oak barrel as well as emphasise the complex caramel aromas we strive for.”

Inmaculada Moreno, international marketing manager, Félix Solís Avantis

“Barrel aging is relatively important to the success of Rioja. The total volume of sales of Rioja in November 2013 shows that 40.64% of Rioja wines sold are young, 36.81% are crianza, 19.73% are reserva, and only 2.82% is gran reserva. These figures change a little bit depending on the market. For instance in Spain, crianza is the Spanish’s favourite with 45.27% of the sales. On the other hand, in export sales young wines reach 44.03% of the sales. Maybe this success of young wines and crianza wines shows that consumers do not really know the meaning of the words “crianza” and “reserva” on a label.

“In the UK specifically, oak is a critical part of the Rioja success. Smooth texture, sweet vanilla and soft ripe fruit with good acidity have helped make the UK the number one Rioja reserva market in the world. As a result the reserva category is more than twice the size of the crianza segment.

“In our winery Pagos del Rey located in Rioja, we started our first barrel aging experience after the 2006 harvest, with a barrel cellar of 4,000 American oak barrels at that time. Every year we buy on average of about 1,000 barrels to complete our current 10,000 units. Our suppliers are barrel-making specialists from Spain who know wood characteristics and the type of toast which is most appropriate for Rioja.”

Carlos Estecha, winemaker, Bodegas Franco-Españolas

“The oak barrel contributes to enrich the Tempranillo grape in a subtle way because the oak gives some characteristics which increase the organoleptic range of Rioja wines. Proportionally to the size of the region, Rioja has the largest number of barrels worldwide. The rules about how to use it are very strict and have always been consistent with the qualitative aims of the region.

“Nowadays in Bodegas Franco-Españolas the average age of the barrels is lower than it used to be. We do an annual renewal and have become conscious that the interaction of the wine with the oak is highly recommended during five or six years in American white oak. We also take into account the origin of the wood and the process barrel manufacturing – such as the level of the toast, because the organoleptic characteristics of the wine changes depending on the level of toasting. At the present time there is a deep technical knowledge of all the processes which have been added to the knowledge from the hundred-year-old wineries.”

Cristina Forner, president, Marqués de Cáceres

“It is important to mention that a wine needs to have potential and enough structure for it to improve its character through ageing in barrel. Given this fact, as is the case with all fine wines worldwide, the tannins derived from ageing in refined oak and the oxygenation of the wine through the wood results in wines of greater complexity with more even attributes. At Marqués de Cáceres we have used French oak from the very beginning. Our founder, Enrique Forner, acquired most of his winemaking experience in France where he owned Châteaux Camensac & Larose-Trintaudon, which he put into practice here in Rioja. He was actually one of the first winemakers to bring French oak to Rioja and to limit the time that red wines spend in oak and to add further ageing in bottle where the wines refine their tannins and structure to acquire more complexity and elegance.

“Mr Forner always experimented with American and French oak for our different styles of wines, which acquire their best characteristics from the “terroir”, the vinification and the type of oak that we use. Today’s wines are more fresh, floral and aromatic with sweeter/softer tannins. According our our philosophy and experience, French oak adapts better to our local grape varieties, where Tempranillo is the major player for red wines and Viura for white wines, for example Antea that ferments on its lees. The choice of oak is a personal decision based on how we interpret the characteristics of our terroirs.”

Elena Adell, head winemaker, Campo Viejo

“The barrel ageing of wines from Rioja is a fundamental part of their identity, and as a result, a vital contributing factor to the success of the region. The periods of ageing in barrel and bottle as set out in the region’s regulations contribute to the unique style of wine we craft in Rioja. And in today’s market, the ability to be different can mean a significant competitive advantage.

“At Campo Viejo, we look to combine authentic Riojan winemaking traditions with 21st century winemaking techniques in order to craft progressive styles of Rioja. Today’s Campo Viejo consumer tends to prefer an expressive, fruit-driven wine style, so we have evolved our approach to oak usage accordingly, in order to ensure the oak supports rather than overpowers the primary fruit. Methods adopted to achieve this include increasing our usage of French oak; not exceeding the required ageing periods as set out by the DO; and working with coopers to manufacture barrels that are even more respectful of the aromatic expression of our wines.”

Rodolfo Bastida, winemaker, Ramón Bilbao

“The characteristics of the grapes growing in the Rioja appellation and more particularly in Rioja Alta present peculiarities in acidity, pH, and particular organoleptic properties that produce interesting and sophisticated wines when aged in barrel for long time. This process transforms Rioja wines and gives the elegance and finesse that is appreciated and recognised worldwide.

“Over ten years ago we found out that working with the same historic vineyards of Ramón Bilbao we could make wines with a higher fruit concentration keeping the elegant character at the same time. To achieve that we just introduced some small changes at the fermentation and oak ageing process, which basically consist of a thorough selection of the origin, grain and toast of the barriques according to the particular features of each vintage. We source the oak from Missouri, Virginia, Vosges, Allier and even some Limousin and Nevers, and replace yearly approximately 20% of our barrels.”