THE RISE AND RISE OF GARNACHA

Garnacha is an increasingly popular choice for ambitious winemakers in Rioja. ‘It reflects the specific character of an area better than Tempranillo,’ says Juan Bautista García of Bodegas Paco García, who discovered that most of the old vineyards in Murillo de Río Leza – the village southeast of Logroño where he is based – were planted with Garnacha. ‘Tempranillo is fairly homogenous; Garnacha is prone to coulure [poor fruit set after flowering] and production can vary widely, but it offers far more diversity and fun,’ adds García. He produces a varietal wine from a 2ha plot with alluvial soils and has also purchased an old vineyard dating from 1880 to make a wine conforming to the Viñedo Singular, Rioja’s new single-vineyard category (see ‘Panel tasting’, p66).

Never has Garnacha held such a privileged status in Rioja. In the past, it was mainly used to make claretes (the popular style of local rosés) or simple, affordable reds generally sourced from Rioja Oriental – the drier, warmer part of the appellation. But, by and large, it faded anonymously into blends. A notable exception was