R areindeed are the fine wine regions that can compete with Rioja in their capacity to hold amazing historic tastings. Marqués de Riscal (with wines made in the 19th century), Marqués de Murrieta, La Rioja Alta, Viña Tondonia and Martínez Lacuesta, to mention a few, can share with confidence very old wines that today show vividness and complexity.
It was not always the case. In 1833, Cyrus Redding published A History and Description of Modern Wines. Although he visited Spain, he wrote nothing about Rioja. At that time, it was not a fine wine region. There was certainly a long tradition of cosechero (carbonic maceration) wines, which can be delicious over a few months, but tend to decline quickly. These wines were all but destroyed when they were sent to consumer regions in wineskins on the back of mules.
Rioja grapes need care, know-how and equipment to produce great wines. In 1790, the priest Manuel Quintano brought the Bordeaux know-how to Rioja, and it worked very well. But all the other producers – and local governments – opposed the move to adopt those superior wines, and the innovation was abandoned. More than half a century later, liberalism had replaced late feudalism. This was the necessary breeding ground for great Rioja.
Two expatriate Marquises, with no connection between them, were the key players in the birth of Rioja as an outstanding wine. Both intended to undertake so-called ‘industrial investments’,
