Founded in 1987 by Catalan Mario Rotllant, Bodega Roda sources from 120 hectares - 70 owned by Roda and 50 by contracted growers - to craft some stunning Rioja wines. Having visited Roda a few years back I was blown away with their attention to detail. Their lineup of wines, from their entry level Crianza, to their upper tier Reservas, are beautifully crafted wines. Bodegas Roda had their first commercial vintage in 1992. All of their wines are sourced from older vines between 30 and 90 years of age and farming is entirely organic, without the use of pesticides.
AgustÃn Santolaya serves as head winemaker and winery director at Bodegas Roda. I was really impressed with the two Bodegas Roda wines that I sampled. Their 2011 Bodegas Roda ‘Reserva’ Rioja (WWB, 91) comes from a warm vintage in Rioja which was characterized by a dry growing season that produced ripe wines. This beautiful wine will age gracefully over the next decade or more. One of their most esteemed wines, the 2009 Bodegas Roda ‘Roda I Reserva’ Rioja (WWB, 94) is a remarkable wine that is one of the best of its kind that I have sampled in the past year. I absolutely adore Rioja wines from this warm vintage. This particular wine shows good power and balance —a hallmark of wines from this vintage. Learn more about this great winery at http://roda.es/?lang=en Here are the beautiful new wines by Bodegas Roda.
2011 Bodegas Roda ‘Reserva’ Rioja- This great ‘Reserva’ has 10% Graciano blended in. The wine shows a combination of red and dark fruits with toasty oak tones that round out the nose. The palate is lithe and showing a wonderful sense of place with black tea, licorice, exotic spic and leather tones rounding out this excellent ‘Reserva.’ While delicious now, this has a long way to go in the cellar. Drink 2019-2029- 91
2009 Bodegas Roda ‘Roda I Reserva’ Rioja- The 2009 ‘Roda I’ is a compelling blend of 91% Tempranillo and the remainder Graciano. The nose is highly perfumed with rose petals, red cherry candy and toasty American oak. The palate is beautifully balanced and shows wonderful concenrtration and elegance with mocha, black tea, Asian spice, leather and pipe tobacco. Complex and downright decadent, enjoy this fantastic warm vintage. bottling over the next twenty years. Drink 2019-2040- 94