Bodegas Roda, Roda I Reserva 2013 Rioja

Tempranillo 100%

After two years of drought and a very cold winter, heavy rain fell just before the vines began shooting. May and June were cold, with continuing frequent rain. By September, vine development was running about three weeks behind usual, but a warm, dry early autumn allowed good development of the grapes. Harvest was late, and the timing in individual vineyard locations was critical.

The grapes are harvested and sorted by hand. Grapes were harvested and sorted by hand. Grapes from individual plots were fermented separately, in temperature controlled French Oak vats followed by malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels.

The wine was aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, 50% new, 50% second fill, before blending, fining with egg white and bottling. The wine is aged for 20 months in the bottle prior to release.

Bodegas Roda was established in 1987 by Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurella. They purchased a 19th Century warehouse beside the río Ebro and established a state of the art winery. The company has 70 hectares of its own vineyards and supplements its own produce with purchases of fruit from carefully selected small producers. This enables the use of grapes from a variety of ecosystems at altitudes between 380 and 650 meters with differing climate influences.