Navarrsotillo S.C., Rioja

The Navarrsotillo wine estate is now run by brothers Ramón, Luis and Andrés Serrano, three brothers who could hardly be more different. Lean Luis is actually a university professor in Pamplona; Ramón is the quiet, reserved, down-to-earth cellar master; and Andrés, despite his imposing build, is a lively, energetic entrepreneur who turned the business into one of Spain's leading organic producers within a few years. Across a total of 95 hectares, they grow not only grapes but also fruit and vegetables: plums, apples and pears, the asparagus for which the region is famous, and delicious little piquillo peppers, pointed red peppers with lovely sweetness and a touch of gentle heat. Some produce is exported, but most is sold in the delicatessen departments of Spain's luxury department store chain El Corte Inglés. Navarrsotillo's wines are practically the only organic wines there, alongside the wine world's most prestigious names.

The vineyards lie around the village of Andosilla. You can sense Andres’s instinct for them, and because winegrowing is only part of the business, they allow themselves the pleasure of deliberately acquiring and cultivating prime sites even where they do not promise the highest yields. Particularly impressive is an old Garnacha vineyard on the plateau west of the village, planted 117 years ago. Each vine is a small personality commanding respect, even awe. For Andres, it is the estate’s most beautiful spot, a place of meditative relaxation, but also a vineyard demanding considerable care and handwork, rewarding this intensive effort with a sparse yet undoubtedly characterful harvest.

The cellar is manageable, modern and functional. It allows meticulous work, provides everything a cellar master needs to make good wine, offers ample temperature-controlled space for ageing the finer wines in barriques and has cooling equipment for fresh rosés and whites. Alongside a coherent hierarchy of classic Rioja wines, from unoaked Joven through Crianza to Reserva and Gran Reserva, interested wine lovers will find rarer specialities: single-variety wines from Rioja’s key grapes, including an excellent 100% Garnacha rosado and a red Garnacha, a pure Mazuelo, known as Carignan in France, and a characterful Graciano. The bodega’s confident individual style combines the best of Rioja tradition with a new, modern approach to slightly fruitier organic wines that suit contemporary tastes.