Perhaps on some occasion you have wondered why the terms of the so-called traditional wine terms: crianza, reserva and gran reserva, basically regulate the minimum time spent in barrels protected by Spanish legislation, although in cases such as Rioja, the time spent in the cellar is increased voluntarily. For a Rioja to bear the word reserva on the back label, the wine must have been in the cellar for a minimum of three years, at least one of which must have been in oak barrels.
At the time, the traditional terms were pioneered by Rioja to distinguish between young vintage wines and aged wines, which were then sold almost exclusively by the historic wineries and some large companies, as they were not always used to distinguish between the wines made by the winemakers and those made by the winemakers. It was not until 1990 that the Rioja Control Board reduced the minimum number of barrels a winemaker could age wines from 500 to 50.
In any case, in the traditional way, the reserva was originally a selection of the best wines that winemakers “reserved” for their own consumption: this later became the traditional term that Rioja later popularized throughout Spain.
Unfortunately, the reserve concept has been trivialized over the years, as the mention in itself, i.e., at least one year in barrels and two years in the cellar, has become an added value apart from the quality of the wine itself. To the point that, for example, a crianza wine can become a reserve simply because it has not left the winery and has been aged for the three years required by law without ever having been conceived for such a distinction.
At Familia Martínez Bujanda, however, we still believe in the origin of the term reserva. Our Finca Valpiedra is a reserve, which exceeds the aging times in barrel (20 to 24 months) and in bottle (24 to 48 months) established by legislation -simply because we understand that the wine requires it, contrary to the increasingly widespread trend of releasing wines on the market as soon as possible- and, above all, respects the original concept of the term.
At Finca Valpiedra we make a selection of soils -the most clayey soils of our estate that provide more structure-, of vines and grapes in the field and in the winery, and also of barrels for aging. with the choice of those that we understand best to respect the character of the and the landscape from which it originates.
In short, there are many reserves on the market, with a wide range of prices, but we believe that the consumer should know that there are still wineries that remain faithful to their principles: selecting the best of the best for these wines with which Rioja, at least at the time, earned respect in much of the world.
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