Bodegas RODA, the barrel room

When we refer to top-rated Spanish wines, most often the region that pops into one’s mind is La Rioja. Justifiably so. As you enter Rioja’s wine capital Haro, you cannot miss the fact that this is a town in which everything centres around wine. Wineries line the townscape, and almost at every turn you are reminded that the main business of this compact little place is wine. And big business it is. Some of the most famous names from the region that ever graced a bottle are based here. Among them is Bodegas RODA, a relatively new winery among its many venerable and famous neighbours. RODA is no mere baby to the wine business. In 27 short years it has grabbed worldwide attention for the speed with which it has quickly made itself a name at the very top. Each year, wine critics publish rave reviews of RODAs stunning wines.

While RODA’s winery is shining new, it sits atop an 18th century cellar on the banks of the River Erbo. The cellar, now used to age its Reservas, was once used by local wine

The ancient underground cellar

growers to store their wines before shipping them to Bordeaux at the time of the phylloxera epidemic. RODA is proud of its old vines – some over 80 years old! – which give its wines the complexity it is noted for. Three grapes are used: Tempranillo, Graciano and Garnacha, and the viticulture is sustainable – 150 hectares of vineyard in all, half of which belongs to RODA, the rest sourced on the basis on quality alone. Each year, a (more…)