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Marqués de Cáceres Crianza with Chorizo Sweet Potato Pockets #WorldWineTravel

 

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We’re kicking off the new #WorldWineTravel blogging group with a trip to La Rioja! Well a virtual trip in any case! You can read host Jeff Burrows’ of Food Wine Click! invitation post here.

Arguably the most well-known word in Spanish wine, people mostly associate the Rioja region with the Tempranillo grape. However, there’s far more to Rioja than just Tempranillo. Authorized grapes in Rioja include Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, and Maturana Tinta for red as well as Viura, Malvasía, Garnacha Blanca, Tempranillo Blanco, Maturana Blanca, Turruntés (not to be confused with Torrontés), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Verdejo.

Despite this broad allowance of grapes my wine does indeed come from the Tempranillo grape. I take what I can get in Turkey! But more on Tempranillo later. First let’s take a quick look at the region.

La Rioja

The Rioja wine region sits in an administrative area in Spain by the same name. It is sub-divided into three areas: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja). I’m going to focus on Riojas Alta and Alavesa as that’s whence my wine hailed.

Rioja itself sits in the central north of Spain with Rioja Alta in the west of Rioja. Rioja Alavesa, while covered under the DOCa, does not actually sit in the La Rioja administrative province but in the Basque province of Alava. Both sub-regions share similar altitudes and microclimates (dry, sunny, and Atlantic). However, soils in Rioja Alta comprise more clay, iron, and alluvial elements while Alavesa has more limestone.

Ageing plays an important role in Rioja wines. Its ageing categories have strongly influenced other regions in Spain. After receiving a bit of a facelift in 2018, Rioja now has five ageing categories.

• Gran Añada: Sitting at the peak of the pyramid, the Gran Añada category covers sparkling wines only. To qualify, wines must spend 3 years en tirage (on the lees) and vintage-date wines must be hand-harvested.
• Gran Reserva: Red wines in this category must age a minimum of 5 years, at least 2 in barrel and 2 in bottles. White and rosé wines also have a minimum ageing requirement of 5 years but only 6 months of oak ageing is required.
• Reserva: Red Reserva wines must age a minimum of 3 years, at least 1 in barrel and 6 months in bottle. White and rosé wines have a lower minimum ageing requirement at only 2 years but also 6 months in bottle. Sparkling wines must spend at least 2 years en tirage.
• Crianza: Wines of all colors must age a minimum of 2 years with the reds spending 1 year in oak and the white and rosé 6 months.
• Generic: Formerly known as the “Joven” category, these wines have no minimum ageing requirements.

Most wine labels will tell you upfront into which category the wine falls, Rioja wines also carry a seal as part of the contraetiqueta, or back label, similar to Italy’s fascetta.

Tempranillo

While Rioja allows a wide variety of grapes, as demonstrated above, Tempranillo is the grand daddy of grapes in this region. Considered native to Rioja, it occupies more than 75% of vineyard space. It’s name comes from the Spanish word temprano (early) because of the grape’s short ripening cycle. Apparently, Tempranillo doesn’t let that short cycle define it entirely. The grape also goes by Cencibel, Tinto de Madrid, Tinto del País, Tinto Fino, Tinto de Toro, and Ull de Llebre!

Widely planted across Spain, Tempranillo takes oak well, can age for considerable lengths of time, and generally produces wines with a good fruit-alcohol balance.

Marqués de Cáceres Crianza, 2014

In 1970, Enrique Forner combined his family’s history making wine in Spain with his experiences making wine in France to found the Marqués de Cáceres winery. Now, 50 years on, the winery has bodegas in both Rioja and Rueda and exports wine to over 120 countries.

The 2014 Crianza blends together Tempranillo (85%) with 10% Garnacha and 5% Graciano. Medium-plus opacity and garnet color in the glass with a predominately fruity nose. Fresh raspberry and cherry, dewy rose petal and hints of black pepper came initially. Medium, fine-grained tannins hit the tongue with mouthwatering acidity that kept the cherry fruits bright and fresh on the palate. Overall medium in body and alcohol (13.5% abv) which balanced well with the fresh fruit flavors.

Follow-up: I decanted this about an hour before drinking it but that wasn’t enough time. I corked it and put it aside over night and it was so much nicer day two. The nose revealed deeper aromas of caramel chocolate, sandalwood, and cigar box. All also present on the palate in the linger finish.

I paired this wine with a sweet potato pocket filled with roasted garlic yogurt, roasted red pepper strips, and crispy baked chorizo slices. On the side I served a simple arugula salad dressed with a touch of olive oil and pomegranate vinegar and roasted red pepper muhammara. While the wine did not like the sweet potato on its own, it did well with the dish as a whole, particularly with the chorizo. That was a really nice combination. The arugula stood up to the fruit in the wine which, in turn, didn’t hate the pomegranate vinegar or the muhammara.

Everyone else

Don’t forget to check out what the rest of the #WorldWineTravel group discovered about Rioja! Join us on Twitter Saturday, January 23 at 11am EST as we discuss our wines and pairings. Just follow the #WorldWineTravel hastag!

• • Andrea at The Quirky Cork shares “Marqués de Cáceres Crianza with Chorizo Sweet Potato Pockets”
  • Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Mexican Ham Soup and a Spanish Rioja Wine”
  • Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Catalan Coques + La Rioja Alta Viña Arana Rioja Gran Reserva 2014”
  • Steve at Children of the Grape shares “Tasting Rioja With Aging Eyes”
  • Allison and Chris at Advinetures share “Rioja: The Confluence of Tradition & Modernity”
  • Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “Viura – There is more to Rioja than Tempranillo”
  • David at Cooking Chat shares “White Bean Stew with Sausage and a Rioja”
  • Lynn at Savor the Harvest shares “Revisiting Rioja: Vinedos Singulares with Bodegas Ontañon”
  • Nicole at Somms Table shares “One Day in Haro”
  • Lauren at The Swirling Dervish shares “White Rioja: There’s a Style for Every Palate”
  • Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares “Classic Rioja Alta to kick off virtual trip to Spain”
  • Terri at Our Good Life shares “Our First Rioja with Assorted Easy Tapas”
  • Marcia at Joy of Wine shares “White Rioja: Taste and See What You’re Missing”
  • Susannah at Avvinare shares “Exploring Legendary Winery Marqués de Riscal”
  • Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “Regional Rioja: Tempranillo, Viura, Rosado paired with hearty soup, salad, lamb, patatas bravas”
  • Martin at Enofylz shares “Reconsidering Rioja Blanco with the 2008 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Reserva Viña Tondonia“
  • Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Rioja Oriental – A Cinderella Story”