Challenges and Oportunites for Natural Wines in Rioja

 1. Preliminary questions about natural wine

Natural wine embodies a radical mindset that questions the foundations of traditional winemaking, which has integrated practices from the chemical-synthetic industry to simplify processes, reduce losses, and standardize the final product.

The industrial philosophy operates in a segmented manner, in contrast to the global/holistic vision that advocates for natural wine. The philosophy of "minimal intervention" is often the opposite of the romantic notion of "do nothing" and letting nature take its course.

This philosophical idea extends from Taoism (Wu Wei) to the permaculture practices of figures like Fukuoka and Bill Mollison. In viticulture, minimal intervention is generally accompanied by extraordinary work in the vineyards.

Today, reducing SO2 is not enough to technically consider a wine as natural. Some of the major wineries (Marqués de Murrieta, Pago de los Capellanes, Lafite) have relatively low SO2 levels, even below the threshold required for ECO certification (80 mg/l).

Tradition, as it is usually said, has been betrayed. The philosophy of natural wine involves returning to the origin, which has been confused and deviated by abusive and often dishonest practices regarding how these wines are made. Indeed, there were viticulturists in the 1980s and 1990s who abandoned the use of systemic chemicals in the field, but the industrial imperative largely dictated what a good wine should be.

The issue of added SO2 alone is not sufficient to qualify a wine as "minimal intervention." For Amos Bañeres, who does not like to define natural wine as a value in itself, the use of pre-selected or industrial yeasts seems more crucial and determinant than the addition of SO2 at the bottling stage. Added sulfur acts as a preservative against the entropy of time.

It prevents or at least delays, a rather unpredictable biological degradation process. This preservative is an exogenous element within a natural whole that begins with the spontaneous fermentation of the must. SO2 injects a framework, an artificial skeletal structure when other techniques are lacking in the search for natural self-preservation.

A low pH allows for the use of minimal SO2 while also providing structure and natural preservation of the wine: this is largely what natural winemakers aim for today. Another path to natural preservation is the ancient Georgian method of winemaking—extensive maceration on the skins in clay vessels to impart a tannic overload that allows the wine to "travel" without unusual deviations.

Nonetheless, in natural wine culture, it is common to accept certain deviations or errors, much like how certain inaccuracies or anti-academic styles are accepted in literature or art. Another method of preservation that avoids excessive SO2 addition is exploited by the Joan D’Anguera brothers, who are famous for moving in a completely opposite direction to the natural wine trend: they do not seek freshness but quite the opposite.

Their wines are known for long, powerful maturation and aging processes, high alcohol content (going against almost everything), finesse, elegance, and hints of Sherry in their potent Grenaches, which express the well-worn concept of the “Mediterranean” as few others can.

The Mediterranean is a hot region (increasingly so) and not a cool one. The message is clear and honest. Their wines are certainly “unique.” A similar approach is found in the wines of Bodegas Bhilar (Elvillar) in Rioja, whose pioneering biodynamic work has positioned these wines at the forefront of minimal intervention in Rioja.

With deep ripening, complex underbrush freshness, and mineral notes, the wines of David Sampedro and Melanie Hickman are famous for their enormous character. The “call” of natural wine responds to the fact that traditional wine is boring for the new generation of consumers and is not in tune with the current ecological reality.

Everything is too perfect, defined, uniform. Many winemakers want to talk about their land, but how? Changes are needed—new perspectives, horizons, honest practices, new subjects, new concepts, new experiments, and a new tradition. In this aspect, Rioja has emerging winemakers who embrace this “new tradition,” particularly inspired by historic figures from Catalonia like Escoda Sanahuja, Mendall, and the Joan D’Anguera brothers.

For them, natural wine (without added SO2) is no longer sufficient or an intrinsic value in itself. Certainly, in the market of consumers of this style of wine, there is still a certain orthodoxy in demanding that only the value of added SO2 be considered natural, without asking what lies beyond that. It is paradoxical how the market is evolving.

Increasingly orthodox and radicalized, it demands certified and proven methods of winemaking from the origin, even distrusting official certifications when necessary because they are deemed insufficient and, in any case, related to a homogeneous state policy.

Large wineries are showing interest in this niche, transforming their vineyards to organic practices. But this is not enough for the new market. Natural wine has its own subculture or counterculture, a more direct synergy between winemakers and final consumers.

Urban markets demand ethical guarantees over official ones. It is counterproductive and less accepted for a large winery with more than 100 hectares to make natural wine or claim to speak of terroir. In fact, in the natural wine niche, terroir does not hold the same meaning or demand as it might for the more traditional world anchored in this old and often empty concept.

As one of the leading experts in biodynamic practices, Ton Rimbau, says, terroir does not exist. His vineyards, situated on the same limestone vein shared by others in Penedès, stand out from the poor, lifeless lands of his neighbors, which are stripped bare by tractors.

In contrast, Ton Rimbau’s vineyards are full of life, and he has paradoxically managed to sell his grapes at the highest price in Catalonia. As Ton says, “The terroir is me and the vine.” It could perhaps be said that Ton Rimbau is the terroir. As a result, the small producer with less than 20 hectares is the profile in demand. Minimal intervention also implies an economic-political philosophy.

The vineyard is an active agent, a device that determines and conditions the way small producers work and live ethically, in harmony with the environment. Thinking small takes them far, as long as they do not get enchanted by the orthodoxy of reducing the value of SO2 alone. That would only be the beginning.

There is also a long tradition of natural wine that begins with more integral practices in the field. The permaculture of Bill Mollison, the biodynamics of Nicolas Joly (whose wines are strongly positioned in the market), or stars like Ganevat, Bellotti, Escoda Sanahuja, or in Rioja, Abel Mendoza, are themselves living examples of this long (not betrayed) tradition.

Recaredo is one of the most sophisticated wineries in Spain in this regard. They have a deep understanding of the indigenous yeasts present in their vineyards, studied and classified by the CSIC to determine the types of deviations that could arise depending on the yeasts they usually have.

Some of these yeasts can trigger higher volatile acidity levels than others. This comprehensive knowledge has led them to produce their own base must organically and to ensure full traceability from vineyard to winery in rigorous biodynamics. Long aging with natural cork, absolute precision in their winemaking, yet there is still a minimal addition of SO2 at bottling, and in this sense, part of the orthodoxy of the natural wine market would not consider it as such. 

There is the idea that a wine that is “too good” does not fit the natural profile. Even so, the spectrum is broader than it seems. There is also an openness and demand to go beyond the standardized recipe of natural wine philosophy, and it is here that opportunities open up for more and more winemakers in Rioja to meet this demand. 

 2. Thinking Big, Thinking Small

In Rioja, there is a grand tradition of minimal intervention viticulture without standardized industrial yeasts and with low SO2 levels. We have an increasing number of integral winemakers who seek to get to the bottom of winemaking principles.

A few years ago, Rioja’n’Roll (2015) sounded an alarm in the media circuit of the sector. Since then, new winemakers have emerged who, without seeking commercial success, have something to say to a public-consumer with “quiet voice” projects.

Carlos Mazo of Vinos en Voz Baja is a good example of the re-signification of wine conceived from a small perspective but aiming high. His wines, such as Costumbres or the powerful Nace La Sierra in the Alto Najerilla area, are some of the most interesting in this regard. Carlos Mazo is a person with an uncommon sensitivity.

His wines leave no one indifferent. An admirer, though distanced, of J. Palacios, he believes that the potential of the area will be slowly revealed with the emergence of new minimalist-inspired winemakers.

Juan Carlos Sancha and his Cerro la Isa are almost a historical example of unbetrayed tradition. Vineyards from the early 20th century with extremely limited productions demonstrate the enormous potential of these old vineyards in Alto Najerilla with minimal intervention and minimal added SO2, without needing to make strong use of the natural wine discourse.

Finca Vista Hermosa has the largest reserve of old-vine Garnacha in all of Rioja, in an ideal location to produce their Conversa wines with very low SO2 content and indigenous yeasts. Despite being one of the largest vineyard estates in Rioja, they only produce 8,000 bottles, demonstrating a commitment to transitioning towards wines with character and authenticity.

In Villabuena, we find Sandra Bravo and her project Sierra de Toloño, particularly the micro-parcels of vineyards over 80 years old, recovered in the Villabuena de Álava area, where they have preserved a blend of indigenous varieties followed by aging in barrels and ceramic amphorae.

The floral expressiveness, freshness, and finesse of her wines reflect her dedication to focusing on small parcels. Her wine La Dula Garnachas de Altura 2021 was highly praised by Sarah Jane Evans MW and Tim Atkin as a revelation in red wine.

Her style aligns with what is generally understood as natural wine: working with small plots (less than 10 hectares), avoiding soil stripping, paying attention to the surrounding biodiversity, leveraging the knowledge of traditional viticulturists, not having large growth aspirations, and reformulating enological influences from experiences in other wine regions like Priorat.

This approach together provides a clear idea of what is meant by “minimal intervention". As Sandra Bravo says, “Over time, I’ve realized that the human factor is 80% of it because the same vineyard managed by another person can be totally different. It’s a matter of understanding the vineyard, of having sensitivity, of not minding losing wine when you rack it. The expression of the vineyard is largely the expression of the person who cultivates and cares for it.”

In the San Ginés area near Labastida, a very recent project by Jade Gross has emerged, influenced and guided by one of Spain’s most rigorous viticulturists, Abel Mendoza. With a somewhat different vision, despite not being an enologist but a great wine taster, Jade Gross produces barely 3,000 bottles. For now, she does not plan to have her own winery.

As she says, “When I arrived, I didn’t know how to do things, and I don’t know how to make wine, but I’m clear that I need to do it myself to understand it, not just taste a wine from a barrel and that’s it.” Her wines are technically natural, several of them without added SO2. The finesse and definition achieved in such a young project have caught the attention of a public looking for wines with a distinct style from classic regions.

As we can see, it will become increasingly common to find in Rioja the need to demonstrate that this wine region has tremendous potential, still dormant due to its large scale. It is necessary that small producers with a natural profile are not ignored or unrepresented, nor unsupported by the regulatory council.

Many of these small producers feel overwhelmed by regulations that standardize the enormous potential that exists in the markets for minimal intervention or natural wine.

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