Vintage Rioja direct from the Cellars of Bodegas Roda back to 2002 and Baleric Island Extra Virgin Olive Oil on SALE!!
Wine and cheese are ageless companions, like aspirin and aches, or June and moon, or good people and noble ventures.
M.F.K. FISHER, introduction, Vin et Fromage
One of the few places where you can still get vintage wines that have been aged at the winery is Spain and today, we have an offering on one of the best values in the world of fine wine- Rioja.
This is one of the "New School" Rioja producers, Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurella are the minds behind this project and I was lucky enough to meet them at the winery on my last trip to Spain in 2001 with Eric Solomon who was the first importer to bring these wines in the US. I remember visiting the winery in the town of Haro shortly after its completion and being blown away at the facility and the story of their journey to make not only one of Spain's greatest wines but one that will stand the test of time on a world stage.
After seeing the elaborate set up and hearing both owner's story of their quest to make the best possible wine which lead them to Rioja it was time to taste the wine and after all that hype, the juice lived up to my expectations. That was when I asked Carmen what the price of the wines would be. He just raised his hand and said "don't ask about the price right now, just enjoy the wine." That's when I figured the price would be high but to be able to acquire all these old wines directly from the source going back to the 2002 vintage, I think the prices on the wines on this offering are incredibly reasonable. All of the wines on this offering just arrived from Rioja a few weeks ago and provenience is everything when you buy vintage wines, direct from the winery is the best possible scenario for collectibles.
A bit about Bodegas Roda:
Rioja is protected in the north by the Cantabria mountain range, that continues getting together with other mountain ranges to end up in the Mediterranean Sea through the Pyrenees. The southern part of the Ibérica mountain range separates Rioja from the Castilian plateau and continues, also without interruption, until it gets to the Mediterranean Sea. These two mountainous systems connect to the West with the Obarenes mountains and this union is just broken by the Ebro river, that cuts the rocks to enter La Rioja and get through it until it discharges in the same sea.
In this area of confluence of these mountain ranges and river is located BODEGAS RODA and its most important growing area. In the late 80's, a new generation renews the vine and wine sector. Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurella arrived in La Rioja with the firm intention of creating a project able to provide the world of winemaking with something new. This is where a fascinating, ambitious, exigent and unprecedented adventure began: BODEGAS RODA.
BODEGAS RODA is located in the edge of the river Ebro, in a balcony of the Railway Station District (Barrio de la Estación) in Haro, La Rioja, over a XIX century "calado". The vine growers used to use it to stock their harvests, that would be, subsequently, sent to Bordeaux by train to mitigate the damages caused by phylloxera.
RODA was founded in 1987. Four years after the foundation the construction of the winery begins, it finished in 2001.
The facilities where custom-made according to the necessities of the RODA wines: adapting in each phase, the number of vats to the selected vineyards in each vintage, a bioclimatic room, product of an unprecedented bet for innovation, and two aging rooms directly bored in the rock.
There are quite a few things that made RODA revolutionary in Rioja when they started in the late 1980's. In RODA wines from other vintages are never used to modify or refresh the present vintage? In order to keep the identity of the vintage in their vineyards, they don't even buy wines from other wineries.
RODA controls around 20 vine parcels distributed in the best ecosystems of the area, from which every year only the best ones are vinified?
Unlike many producers in Spain the vinification is made in French oak vats with temperature control. In addition, the aging is 100% made in French oak barrels.
RODA has always understood the landscape as the vision of a group of excellent vineyards where that game of different Atlantic, Mediterranean and Continental climates generates the diverse configurations of Tempranillo, ripened in a profile of red fruit to make RODA or in a profile of black fruits to make RODA I.
RODA cultivates 120 hectares of vineyard, 70 of those are self-owned and the 50 hectares left are from local growers with which we have different agreements. They are distributed in different ecosystems that go from altitudes of 380m to 650m above sea level.
RODA vineyards are in an environment with the influence of three different climates.
The Cantabria and the Ibérica mountain range, merge in the Obarenes Mountains, a mountainous barrier only cleaved by the Ebro river. In this area we find the RODA vineyards where the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Continental climates capriciously play.
All the RODA wines in the store:
Roda II or Roda Reserva after 2002
Roda II, like Roda I, spends 24 months in French oak barricas and one year in bottle prior to release. A top wine, resulting from a selection of barrels which appear friendlier and more approachable in youth than those destined for Roda I. 75% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacha (old vines), also aged two years in French oak.
In RODA we look for the parcels that that year have ripened in a red fruit profile, with the expression of the aromas present in the edge of the glass, ready to be felt immediately; with sweet spice notes and a kind freshness. In the mouth the red fruit carries the importance, with a fresh, long, silky, voluptuous and continuous mouth pass.
Before vintage 2002, RODA was called RODA II.
RODA I
RODA I is blended with parcels that that year have ripened in a black fruit profile. The deep black fruit, is almost always dominated by the plumb and supported by mineral notes, chocolate and balsamic sensations, that form an ensemble that slowly flows from the furthest side of the glass until it becomes huge in the entrance of the nose. In the mouth, the volume becomes evident, the fruit complexity nicely surrounds the mouth cavity showing the numerous and polished tannins. The wine gets longer making stronger the retro nasal sensation every time we breathe. A fruity and fresh sensation will last, inviting us to continue drinking.
2018 BODEGAS RODA SELA RIOJA
Price: $28.50 Your Price: $25.08 Quantity in Stock: 24
(92 Points) I liked the result of the cold, rainy and challenging vintage, which resulted in the 2018 Sela, a wine with less alcohol, 13.5%, and more freshness, lighter, a little more herbal but to me fresher and with more character and more integrated oak. It's a blend of Tempranillo with 3% Garnacha and 2% Graciano matured in French barrique for 12 months. It is drinking well and is ideal for food and wines by the glass. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2018 BODEGAS RODA RESERVA RIOJA
Price: $55.00 Your Price: $48.40 Quantity in Stock: 24
89% Tempranillo, 4% Graciano and 7% Garnacha.
Vineyard: Bush vines older than 30 years, mostly in Haro and its surroundings. Average yields 1,5 kg. per vine.
Middle layer with a red background and also red rim, somewhat more open in colour than usual. The profile of the 2018 vintage, rainy and cold, is noticeable in the colour.
It is intense with very fresh red fruit, light and very fine. There is a lot of delicacy and balance. The oak is impeccably assembled and the fruit is specially fresh. The sensation in the nose grows as it is aerated. Notes of very fine spices are appreciated.
It is of medium volume that fills the palate. The tannin is polished and the touch is very pleasant. It has a marked fruity character from the profile of red fruits, among which the cherry stands out. It is long and fresh and floral details appear among the spicy notes. It has spaciousness and lightness at the same time.
The influence of the 2018 vintage is noticeable, a fresh year with an old profile, with rain and cold temperatures that gave wine of lower volume and greater freshness.
2017 BODEGAS RODA RODA I RESERVA RIOJA
Price: $85.25 Your Price: $75.02 Quantity in Stock: 24
90% Tempranillo, 6% Graciano and 4% Garnacha.
Vineyard: Bush vines over 30 years old, yields limited to 1,5 kgs per vine.
Intense and bright, with a high layer, cherry red background and red rim.
Nose: The complexity of the aromas and the quality are surprising. Excellent nose.
There is a superposition of aromatic layers that express themselves. The oak is very discreet, always holding the fruit and the spicy notes. The layer of fruit aromas is abundant, with a clear profile of black fruits, highlighting black plum and blueberries.
In the layer of spices there is a play of cloves, black pepper and a light touch of cinnamon. In the background, details of very subtle white flowers can be seen. The aroma of the moist earth, which brings mineral memories, mixes with that of the cocoa in a really pleasant aromatic layer.
It has good volume with a nice touch. The tannin is present, but it is very fine, of great quality.
The fruit character with a black profile stands out in the palate and plum is the protagonist. There is a slightly bitter note, like that of the stone of the fruit, very pleasant, which gives personality to the whole.
2017 RODA RESERVA RIOJA
Price: $54.00 Your Price: $47.52 Quantity in Stock: 8
89% Tempranillo, 6% Graciano and 5% Garnacha.
Vineyard: Bush vines older than 30 years, mostly in Haro and its surroundings. Average yields 1,5 kg. per vine.
Colour: Medium-high layer with a red background and red rim.
Nose: Very intense, full of red fruits. Lots of ripe cherry and some hints of black fruit. Mineral wine with earthy notes and a lot of depth.
Perfectly assembled oak and great elegance. Notes of aromatic plants and floral nuances appear.
Palate: Good volume with a velvety touch. Very good tannin. Lots of red fruits full of nuances. With a very slight bitterness from the cherry pit. Long, fresh and delicious.
2016 BODEGAS RODA CIRSION RIOJA
Price: $255.00 Your Price: $224.40 Quantity in Stock: 2
In 1995 we discovered that some vines produced grapes whose flavor was very different to the one of the vines around them. They produced a sensation of fullness, of volume, with notes that were more alike to a wine than to a grape. Two years later, we made our first CIRSION, which we did not commercialize, and we tested that with a short aging, the wine reached a level of incredible silkiness and a fruit complexity out of the ordinary. Each vintage we walk through the vineyards looking for this curious natural peculiarity, and that's how, one in a thousand, the CIRSION grapes are picked.
During the 2016 vegetative cycle, there was a total rainfall of 409 mm, distributed mostly in the months prior to sprouting. At the end of the cycle, already in the month of September, there was a significant increase in the temperatures with a storm that favored the ripening. A year of perfect maturation, with Mediterranean influence and great wines.
Grape variety: 89% Tempranillo and 11% Graciano.
Vineyard: Selected bunches from different plots. Applied methods from own research and development on polymerisation of tannins and anthocyanins.
Colour: Great layer, deep, almost impenetrable.
Nose:Intense, complex. Enigmatic: smoke, moist earth. Small black fruits and some red, even flowers.
Palate:Powerful, voluminous, delicate, with very fine tannin, a true caress to the palate. Licorice, chocolate, mint, like an exquisite candy filled with freshness. It is long, almost immense and the freshness of the fruit remains in the aftertaste.
The contribution of Graciano is patent but it is perfectly integrated with the Tempranillo. The wine is huge but never excessive. Voluminous but aerial. Wide and at the same time long. A large wine of an extraordinary vintage.
2012 BODEGAS RODA RESERVA RIOJA RODA I MAGNUM
Price: $238.00 Your Price: $209.44 Quantity in Stock: 3
The harvest was marked by a great drought, 263mm. rainfall which came after another very dry year 301mm. rainfall in 2011. During the April month was collected during the whole cycle more than a quarter of the rainfall. May was warm and the budding was very good.
After the great drought during the summer, the ripeness was good due to the rains that arrived just in time in September and the thermal gap between the night and day.
The average temperatures were lower than those of 2011 and 2009 but higher than those of 2010. The heat summation led the same road.
The wines are less full-bodied than 2011 but more fresh and balanced.
Grape varieties: 96% Tempranillo, 4% Graciano.
Vineyard: Bush vines over 30 years old, yields limited to 1,5 kgs per vine.
Colour: Medium-high layer, with picota cherry background.
Nose: Good intensity, the black fruit stands out in the range of plums and blackberries. There are sweet spices on the background of earth and minerals. It is deep and elegant, with wood perfectly assembled. The olfactory set has a great harmony.
Palate: Good volume, with impeccable fine and pleasant tannin. Black fruits appear, especially the plum with some red fruit tips. It is enveloping, long and fresh with great elegance.
A delicious wine. The 2012 vintage leaves its elegance and balance hallmark.
2011 BODEGAS RODA RESERVA RIOJA RODA I
Price: $90.00 Your Price: $79.20 Quantity in Stock: 24
An excellent vintage: 568 mm. rainfall during the vegetative cycle. The "high" temperatures in March and April caused an early budding of 15 days compared to 2010.
During the month of July, the temperatures dropped, the average monthly temperature of 19ºC, and the differences with 2010 were reduced to one week at veraison.
The low rainfall in the summer months and the high temperatures of August and September, with a lower production of the vineyard, made that the harvest com early, between 15 and 20 days, compared to 2010.
Grape varieties: 91% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano.
Vineyard: Bush vines over 30 years old, yields limited to 1,5 kgs per vine.
Colour: High layer with dark red background.
Nose: It has a beautiful nose, intense with black fruit and reddish details. The plum becomes the protagonist among cherries and sweet spices. There are waves of aromas that rise from the depth leaving memories of earth and minerals. The wood is guessed, almost imperceptible among the spices.
Palate: Wide, powerful and delicate at the same time. Very cozy and pleasant, combining sweetness and freshness. The tannin is very fine and you can feel, between the silkiness of the black plums, the chocolate notes and the memory of a cigars box.
It shows that it comes from an excellent vintage.
2010 BODEGAS RODA RESERVA RIOJA RODA I
Price: $90.00 Your Price: $79.20 Quantity in Stock: 23
An excellent vintage. 440 mm. rainfall during the growing season.
The winter was wet, early spring was dry and there was plenty of rain during the flowering season which caused millerandage and in turn resulted in open and well-aired clusters.
July and August were very dry. There was virtually no rain. There were no phytosanitary problems and almost no treatments were needed. Some light rains in September and October that allowed an excellent, although rather small harvest.
Temperatures were well below those of 2009 and the whole cycle was slower, with a delay of about 10 days. It was a cooler vintage, which left its mark of freshness and elegance in the wines.
Grape varieties: 98% Tempranillo, 2% Graciano.
Vineyard: Bush vines over 30 years old, yields limited to 1,5 kgs per vine.
Colour: Deep colouring and nice intensity. Bigarreau cherry colour with a dark red edging.
Nose: Very intense and complex, with very black fruit and some red glitters. The Feeling of black plums blended with sweet spices and at the same time fresh fruit buds. Cocoa and damp earth with some aromatic herbs. Light chocolate and plum notes.
Palate: Great volume, with a very silky touch and fine tannin. The cocoa and the fruit are perfectly integrated, combining ripening and freshness. Excellent and elegant in the mouth, light, lively and voluminous at the same time. An important retronasal. A long aftertaste with a great pleasure feeling and the remembrance of the ripe fruit. Minerality and complexity. Great wine.
2009 BODEGAS RODA RESERVA RIOJA RODA I
Price: $90.00 Your Price: $79.20 Quantity in Stock: 24
419 mm. rainfall. Rainy winter and spring.
The harvest started with good water reserves. The whole cycle was ahead of time from the start. A very hot and dry summer. Maximum temperatures between 35ºC and 37ºC.
The balanced vineyards managed to endure the lack of rain. Some rainfall in mid-September which rounded ripening and put an end to water stress. Fantastic weather until harvest.
Excellent harvest.
Grape varieties: 95% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano.
Vineyard: Bush vines over 30 years old, yields limited to 1,5 kgs per vine.
Colour: High layer of red colour and dark bigarreau cherry background.
Nose: Intense, very elegant, finely spiced, with black fruit and some red notes. black plums, fine chocolate and sweet spices. The freshness of the bone area of the plum emerges from the background. Delightful and comfortable nose, an aromatic composition that you not get tired of smelling.
Palate: Big volume, intensity and delicateness at the same time, silky and soft. Important retronasal. The black plum and chocolate stands out in the mouth, with some red and fresh notes, all in perfect ripeness state. It is a delicately fresh wine without losing the warmth and very elegant.
2007 BODEGAS RODA RESERVA RIOJA RODA I
Price: $124.50 Your Price: $109.56 Quantity in Stock: 26
The year of mildew. 627 mm. rainfall, 384 mm. of which occurred in spring and only 5 mm. in July, August and September altogether.
A widespread outbreak of mildew across the region during the spring and early summer reduced the harvest. Remarkable maturation with dry and sunny weather. Late harvest, limited production of very high quality.
Grape varieties: 100% Tempranillo.
Vineyard: Bush vines over 30 years old, yields limited to 1,5 kgs per vine.
Colour: Deep red, against a cherry background with scarlet edging. High-to medium-depth colouring.
Nose: Very smooth and intense, with the waves of Atlantic freshness typical of vintages from the high, westerly provinces of La Rioja. Upon impact, these waves of aroma release alternating impressions of red and black fruits, cherries and plums. Hints of minerals develop in the nose, along eith smooth, fresh spices.
The wine conveys the sensation of a stroll through the woods, among the fallen leaves and the damp earth, while at the same time providing a reminder of minerals, the cocoa and the plums that are so typical of RODA I.
Palate: Elegant, delicate, with a good body that persists throughout the mouth without diminishing. Silky tannin. The fruit is very complex and spicy, moving through the mouth before finishing with an explosion of freshness.
After drinking, the wine leaves very fine aromas of fruit, along with hints of woodland and earth that hark back to a rainy spring and cool summer, with a fine autumn that adds the signatory flourish to one of the best Atlantic-style vintages we have produced.
2005 BODEGAS RODA RESERVA RIOJA RODA I
Price: $124.50 Your Price: $109.56 Quantity in Stock: 33
Excellent vintage until the 12th of October that the rains began. A dry and healthy summer. 463 mm. of precipitations in the vine-growing year. Perfect ripeness. Moderate temperatures and fresh nights in September.
Grape variety: 100% Tempranillo.
Vineyards: Bush vines over 30 years old, yields limited to 1,5 kgs. per vine.
Colour: Saturated colour with black cherry and purple rim.
Nose: Black ripe fruit, such as black plum. Some mineral scents, cocoa, chocolate, very deep and elegant. Aromas coming up from the bottom of the glass, with a sensation of volume.
Palate: Dense, voluminous, full on the palate, silky, with present but very subtle tannins. Black fruit, plum, chocolate, some mint notes, mineral, full, a great wine. Very elegant and long, with good acidity giving contributing to freshness. A wine to enjoy it.
Harmonic, all is very well assembled. It invites to continue to take another drink.
2004 BODEGAS RODA RESERVA RIOJA RODA I
Price: $124.50 Your Price: $109.56 Quantity in Stock: 34
The miraculous harvest. Damp winter. 445,3 mm. of precipitations in the vine-growing year. Good bud break. Several storms in August, there was hail on the 2nd and 3rd of August.
Stormy rains and heat in September which caused some outbreaks of botrytis (September, 1 to 10). From the 11th of September until the end of the harvest was a dry and sunny weather with northerly winds that dried the outbreaks of botrytis. The days were warm and the nights were fresh. The harvest changed radically.
2002 BODEGAS RODA RESERVE RODA
Price: $75.00 Your Price: $66.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
Atypical cycle, great heterogeneity. Scarce harvest due to the lack of bud break. 523,6 mm. of precipitations in the vine-growing year.
In December 2001, the temperatures were nearly -15ºC. A drought winter. Frost in April, which did not lie. A rainy August. A rainy harvest.
Grape varieties: 90% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha, 5% Graciano.
Vineyards: Bush vines over 30 years old, yields limited to 1,5 kgs. per vine.
Coming from an Atlantic vintage, it is marked by freshness.
The fruit is red and very expressive, accompanied by the usual spicy character in its predecessors of RODA II.
Continuous volumen, without troughts, long and silky tannin, with a fresh aftertaste of red fruits that invites you to continue drinking.
The latest vintage of Olive Oil from the Baleric Islands
RODA ACEITE L'AMO OLIVE OIL (500ML)
Price: $25.00 Sale $22.00 Quantity in Stock: 24
Extra virgin olive oil without filtering greenish yellow with quite tonality. Smell of great intensity and transparency, remembering the mastic, the bushes and the herbs of the edges of the roads.
This virgin olive oil from Manacor (Balearic Islands) is a multivariety of Arbequina and Picual Mallorquin.
RODA ACEITE AUBOCASSA OLIVE OIL (500ML)
Price: $25.00 Sale $22.00 Quantity in Stock: 23
We came from an extraordinary harvest and the olive farmers expected a more meagre year. Since October 2020, a drought has been the main characteristic of the olive cycle, and the summer was especially hot. As was expected with these conditions, the production was sparse. The olives matured very quickly, and westarted picking with perfect weather conditions. Halfway through the harvest, rain and wind set in which prolonged the picking towards the end. Although the quantity was less than usual, the yield was above average and compensated for the lower production.
The first sensation is of silkiness, fullness and freshness. We then perceive the fruits and vegetables that we appreciated earlies in the nose. The fresh almond plays a special role, and we note a certain spiciness that enlivens the whole ensemble. There is no bitterness at all but the light and the sweetness of Mallorca reign.