Baigorri Reserva 2018: Tasting, Winemaking and Pairings (92 Points)

Some wineries are recognisable before you taste the wine. Baigorri, in Samaniego, is a glass cube over the landscape of Rioja Alavesa: the grapes enter at the top and the wine descends by gravity, floor by floor, down to the barrel room.

The Baigorri Reserva 2018 sums up that way of working well. It is a Tempranillo from old vines, aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels; the winery’s website lists 92 points from James Suckling (2020).

It is also vegan-friendly: no animal-derived products are used in its fining, a detail more and more people look for on the back label.

If you want a Rioja with character for a special meal, this is one worth understanding before you uncork it. Here you have the vineyard, the winemaking, the tasting notes, the serving advice and the dishes that suit it best.

A Winery That Works by Gravity

At Baigorri, the grapes are not pumped: they descend under their own weight from one floor to the next. This avoids breaking skins and seeds, which would add bitterness and green tannins.

Pumps move the must with pressure and friction. Gravity does it gently, and you can tell in a cleaner wine with more precision on the palate.

It is a demanding system, because it forces you to build the winery vertically and to think through every step before the harvest. But it is among the most respectful of the fruit there is.

If you see the word “gravity” on a winery’s fact sheet, you already know what it means: fewer pumpings, fewer knocks to the grapes and, in general, finer tannins.

Samaniego and the Sonsierra: The Wine Landscape

Samaniego is one of the villages of Rioja Alavesa that lean against the slope of the Sierra de Cantabria. This mountain range holds back the cold northern winds and arranges the landscape into terraces of vineyard that descend toward the Ebro.

The grapes for this Reserva come from San Vicente de la Sonsierra, on the northern bank of the river. Although it belongs to La Rioja, it shares mountains, soils and climate with Rioja Alavesa.

The DOCa Rioja was the first qualified Spanish denomination, in 1991. And the strip between the mountains and the Ebro is one of its most prized areas for Tempranillo meant for ageing.

Old Vines and Altitude

It is a 100% Tempranillo from vineyards more than 45 years old, planted at about 600 metres above sea level on clay-limestone soils.

Old vines mean deep roots and little fruit per vine, but very concentrated. The plant no longer spends energy on growing and devotes it to ripening a few bunches.

Altitude brings cool nights, which preserve acidity. And the mix of clay and limestone combines body and freshness, two traits you notice in the glass.

How the Baigorri Reserva 2018 Is Made

These are the steps of its winemaking, explained without jargon:

• Manual, selective harvest: only the bunches at their peak are picked by hand.
• Gravity feed: the grapes reach the tanks without pumping.
• Long macerations in wooden vats: the grapes are vinified with the greatest delicacy, to preserve an aroma as natural as possible, with controlled fermentation in wooden vats and stainless steel.
• 18 months of ageing: in new French oak barrels.
• Fining without animal products: that is why it is vegan-friendly.

The wooden vats (tinos) are large wooden tanks, wider than they are tall. They breathe a little more than steel and soften the texture of the wine from the fermentation onward.

A new barrel leaves more of a mark than a used one, because it gives up more aromas and tannins from the wood. That is why it is usually reserved for grapes with enough structure to absorb it, like those from old vines.

Analysis and Label: What the Data Tell You

The wine has 14.5% vol., a high strength that speaks of well-ripened grapes. With the acidity that altitude brings, that alcohol is well integrated and does not feel heavy.

In the DOCa Rioja, a Reserva must age at least 36 months, with a minimum of 12 in barrel. Baigorri gives it 18 months of new oak, six more than required.

To read it in the shop: look for the garnet back label of the Regulatory Council, the one that identifies Reservas. Green is generic, red is Crianza and blue is Gran Reserva.

Tasting Note for the Baigorri Reserva 2018

• Appearance: intense picota-cherry red, deep in colour.
• Nose: intense toasty notes and very ripe black fruit, almost like compote, with dairy and spicy notes.
• Palate: fresh entry; the precise acidity makes the fruit seem redder, and the tannins, present, arrive well shaped by a creamy sensation.
• Retronasal: bay leaf, pepper, blue flowers and hints of liquorice that come from the ageing.
• Finish: long, dry and mineral, with juicy fruit and scrubland aromas.

Other scores listed by the winery

The winery’s website also lists this score from an earlier vintage:

• 2005: 94 Parker points (2011).

Scores belong to each specific vintage and are not inherited. What a record like this does say is that the winery’s style is consistent from one harvest to the next.

How to Serve It

The recommended serving temperature is 16 °C. Warmer, the alcohol takes centre stage; colder, the cocoa and spices close up.

A brief decanting, of half an hour, suits it well. The wine gains breadth, the new wood integrates and the finer nuances appear.

Use a wide red-wine glass with a good air chamber. At 14.5% vol., a small glass would concentrate the alcohol on the nose.

Serving trick: decant only if you are going to drink it within the next hour. If the meal is long, serve it straight from the bottle and let it evolve in the glass.

Pairing: What to Eat With This Reserva

Its recommended pairings are game meats, roast lamb and suckling pig, poultry and elaborate dishes. Here are some specific matches:

• Stewed venison or wild boar: the wine’s cocoa and spices connect with game sauces.
• Roast milk-fed lamb: the soft fat balances the tannin of the new barrel.
• Roast duck or fattened pullet: a lighter option, without giving up flavour.
• Mushrooms stewed with meat.
• Aged sheep’s cheeses: best with rind and a few months of maturation.

Avoid shellfish, white fish and sweet desserts. With them, the new wood and the tannin become too prominent.

Baigorri Reserva vs. Julián Madrid Reserva

In this same campaign there is another Rioja Alavesa Reserva that makes a good comparison: the Julián Madrid Reserva 2019, from Casa Primicia.

Both are 100% Tempranillo and age in French oak. Julián Madrid adds 20 months in barrel and does its malolactic fermentation inside the wood; Baigorri opts for vines more than 45 years old and 18 months in new barrels.

Opening them side by side is a practical lesson in styles within the same category. Same back-label colour, two different ways of understanding the Reserva.

Cellaring

Given its structure, its acidity and its ageing in new oak, it is a Reserva with several years of potential in the bottle. It can already be enjoyed, especially with some time to breathe.

Store it lying down, at a stable temperature between 12 and 15 °C, away from light and vibrations. Over time, the forest fruit will give ground to earthy and spicy nuances.

Price and Who It Is For

Its approximate price is around €22. For an old-vine Reserva with 18 months of new French oak, it sits in a very reasonable range.

As a guide, in a restaurant it usually appears at between double and triple that price. It is a wine for anyone looking for a serious Rioja for a special meal, or a gift with a story behind it.

A Trip to Samaniego

If you visit Samaniego, the winery’s architecture alone justifies the stop. From the glass cube you can see the vineyard and, underground, the floors the wine travels through.

From there, the road that skirts the Sierra de Cantabria links several villages of Rioja Alavesa among terraced vineyards. It is a short route, perfect for an autumn day.

If you plan to visit the winery, book first: at wineries in the area, visits usually work by appointment and with limited places.

Shall we open it with a game stew and try to guess what each of those eighteen months in new oak contributes?