Description

The red 2019 Gabatxo was produced with a blend of 40% Garnacha, half from Rioja Alta and the other half from Rioja Baja, 40% Tempranillo from Rioja Alavesa and 20% Graciano from Rioja Alavesa fermented separately, the Garnacha with full clusters, the rest destemmed and blended after fermentation finished. It matured in second-year oak vats for one year. Alcohol is 14%, and there’s integrated acidity. This feels a little different from the rest of the reds and is a little different from the 2018, more aromatic and open, straightforward, but with a serious palate with chalky tannins. 22,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2021
92/100 Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate July 2022
REVIEW FOR CONTEXT, THIS RELEASE IS NOT REVIEWED YET

Coming from France, Olivier has an innate sense of terroir. Unlike most of his peers in Rioja, he bases his cuvées not on political boundaries or the length of barrel aging but on terroir. He believes in a quality hierarchy inspired by Burgundy with  generic appellation and Village wines at the base and Premier and Grand Cru wines at the top.

This is how to best understand what Olivier is doing in Rioja, rather than the moribund Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva model. As Olivier has steadily and carefully grown his production he’s been hampered by the high prices for land and grapes in Rioja.

He first ventured into Navarra where he made a few vintages from high-altitude Garnacha before settling in Arlanza, a relatively new DO located between Rioja and Ribera del Duero. In Arlanza he found high-elevation vineyards of Tempranillo (some quite ancient) intermixed with a scattering of Garnacha and Albillo. This mountain fruit is potentially sterner stuff than what Olivier is used to in Rioja but in his hands it is remarkably vibrant and floral.

WINEMAKING
In keeping with his education and advocation, all of Olivier’s vineyard sources – whether owned or leased – are farmed biodynamically. The fruit is harvested by hand and each variety is fermented separately. Depending on the source it may be partially destemmed or fermented whole cluster.

Fermentations are indigenous. Macerations are gentle and short. Aging takes place in stainless steel or cement tanks, foudre, and barrel. SO2 is kept to a minimum, usually added only before bottling. There really is no precise recipe, only the guiding principles of minimal-intervention and taste.