We see ‘wine clubs’ operating in California all the time. The direct-to-consumer programs are the life blood of a number of domestic producers. But wine selling in Europe seems to generally work rather differently. In most top chateaux in Bordeaux, for example, there are no gifts shops or trinkets, and you can’t even buy a bottle of wine. So the idea of direct-to-consumer/wine club type programs doesn’t even cross our minds when we’re over the ‘pond’. That’s why when Kyle saw a bunch of wines displayed at one of our favorite Spanish wineries, La Rioja Alta, that he had never seen before, he posed a question.
“What are these?” he asked. The Bodega answered that these wines, designated Reserva Club de Cosecheros (loosely translated ‘vintage reserve club’), were specially selected barrels for wine club members of the bodega that committed to about a half barrel per year (roughly twelve cases) and received a yearly allocation of the wines. The wines were not available for sale in any other fashion, but the seed was planted. If these were specially selected for ‘members only’ from one of our long-time favorite Spanish bodegas, what’s the downside? Answer, there isn’t one.
That impression was pretty much burned into the memory banks and the search was on. Recently, one of our purveyors, the one who has been the source of the lion’s share of the great old Riojas we have been proffering over the last six or seven years, presented us with a list that included several bottlings of Reserva Club de Cosecheros. We bought every bottle they had of the six best vintages without hesitation. We opened a bottle of each literally right offf the truck. It was Kyle’s gift to himself for his 50th birthday and the tasting was fascinating for Rioja-heads like us.
It was a memorable showing of classic Spanish Rioja, with the general style falling somewhere between Las Rioja Alta’s refined, lifted Vina Ardanza and the more fruit forward, though still unmistakably Rioja ‘904’ Gran Reserva. Tasting them side-by-side, it was a fantastic demonstration of the differences between these outstanding vintages, with the youngest (the 2004) starting to really open up and the oldest (the 1989) showing some resolved tannins and more tender edges but still with, as Clive Coates used to say, ‘bags of life’ left at 30 years of age. Sadly, the 1994 was a solo bottle but we’ve got reasonable quantities of the other (3 to 5 cases each).
Don’t bother looking for scores. The press doesn’t see these, and what would be the point anyway since they are only for club members. These likely came from restaurant ‘members’ or private collections in Spain. In fact, almost no one sees these outside of the winery and their club. We’re pretty confident in saying that these are probably the only bottles in the country. If you are a Rioja lover, these are a must…classic old school elegance, bright fruit, ageless demeanors. These are special, insider wines.
We’re not the least bit pressed to sell them but feel obligated to give the folks who support our expansive Spanish program a chance at something you don’t see every day, or in this case ever. We’d suggest nibbling on a variety of vintages instead of focusing on just one as we think that will provide the most fulfilling experience. In any case, give these a serious look soon. Prices range from $69.98-79.98, certainly great prices for one-of-a-kind reservas with this kind of bottle age. Since we have never sold them before, we have no idea how long they might be around. Then again, we might come to our senses and decide to keep them. Salud.
La Rioja Alta Rioja Reserva Club de Cosecheros 2004
La Rioja Alta Rioja Reserva Club de Cosecheros 2001
La Rioja Alta Rioja Reserva Club de Cosecheros 1995
