vinsacro

THE ‘SAC’ IS BACK

It seemed like only yesterday (it was actually November, 2017) we were excitedly jabbering on about the return of one of our favorite go-to Riojas after a long absence from the marketplace. At the time, probably a decade or so ago, we were presented with the Valsacro Dioro 2001. It was love at first sip and we kept a few bottles back for ourselves (though not enough) that we consumed with gusto over the next few years.

Our reunion offer that aforementioned November involved the 2010 Vinsacro Dioro (which had subsequently been renamed Vinsacro for reasons unknown to us). The 2010 was a most pleasant déjà vu because it was the same fruit driven, polished, creamy, supple, hedonistic red we had remembered from our first experience all those years ago.

The first time around (the 2001) we don’t remember seeing any press at the time. But the 2010 had also caught the attention of Wine Advocate’s Luis Gutierrez who launched a rather detailed piece describing this unique estate in Rioja Baja that had been owned by the same family for four generations. The short story is that the vineyard is up to a century old and the grapes are planted to a field blend that the family refers to as ‘Vidau’. The fruit is hand harvested into small crates and the Dioro goes through four separate steps in the selection process, ending up as a ‘best barrels’ cuvee.

Luis’ notes say, “The 2010 Vinsacro Dioro opens to an explosion of flowers and ripe blueberries that is very perfumed. It feels quite modern and aromatic with well-integrated oak and a luscious palate. This is produced from a field blend they call Vidau, which, in their case it is approximately 50% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo and a myriad of other grapes like Graciano and even Monastrell…92 points.” Yeah it’s that whole explosion of berries and ‘luscious palate’ that keeps us coming back, plus we were selling at more than 50% off Luis’ stated ‘retail’ price.

Good times were had by all then, and when we waltzed through a slug of the winery’s 2015 Vinsacro Dioro in August of the following year. Similar story, 92 point, shamelessly engaging, supple Rioja redolent with dark plum/blueberry fruit tinged by spice, lead pencil, notes of cocoa being sold for a fraction of its original retail. Again, here’s an extremely pretty wine from a clearly committed producer, from a great vintage, for pennies on the dollar? We love the story line…it’s so Winex!

But mostly we love the wine.

So when we were approached with the 2005, another great vintage (this one was still labeled Valsacro), the choice was easy. Where had this wine been for the last decade plus? No clue, but it is in a verygood place now. Thanks to the additional time in bottle the 2005 Valsacro Dioro is a harmonious, hedonistic marvel. We found reviews from back in the day, dueling ‘92s’ from Vinous’ (then IWC) Josh Raynolds and Advocate’s reviewer at the time Jay Miller, significantly different palates.

From Jay Miller, June, 2010, “The 2005 Dioro was produced from a stricter selection and was aged in new French oak for 12-14 months. A saturated purple color, it displays a brooding bouquet of wood smoke, pencil lead, espresso, truffle, and blackberry. Dense and loaded on the palate, it has gobs of ripe black fruit, excellent balance, and a lengthy, pure finish. It will continue to blossom over the next 3-4 years and have a drinking window extending from 2014 to 2025…92 points. (list $57). “

From Josh Raynolds, September, 2011, “(aged in new French oak): Glass-staining ruby. Extremely perfumed, oak-accented nose displays cherry-vanilla and blackberry preserves, with a sexy floral note and building spiciness. Full-bodied and velvety, offering palate-coating flavors of macerated cherry, dark berries and vanilla bean. Finishes very long and sweet, with persistent spiciness and a hint of smoke. An extremely attractive and balanced example of the modern style…92 points.”

The plush, creamy texture, integrated fruit and terroir components, superb balance, and silky finish are like few wines in the marketplace at any price. We have consumed a good bit of this already and have plans to do a lot more. Once again we are able to offer this absolutely delicious wine, bottle age included, for under $20!

We have stocked a bit more for ourselves this time around because the stuff doesn’t seem to last long in the cellar (not that it wouldn’t if we left it alone). The 2005 Valsacro Rioja Dioro 2005 one to buy by the case.

The same could be said for the 2015 Vinsacro Rioja Dioro, of which we recently got a reload. The short story here is that this is another offering from this very appealing house that was a Wine Advocate 92 for this wine, at a list price of $65, only we are also selling it for a ridiculous$19.98!

VALSACRO: RETURN OF AN OLD FRIEND

It seemed appropriate to say a word about how wine gets here. The answer is, of course, any way we can do it depending on how good it is, which will determine how much trouble we are willing to go to. Sometimes we buy direct from the winery here, or on the open market in Europe, and bring it in ourselves. With wines outside the U.S. there is usually an importer involved. Some importing companies are large, corporate types, and some are ‘shoestring’ operations, with everything in between. It is from this vast array of sources that we can put together a significant selection of wines to suit all manner of tastes.

Usually an importer will work through a purveyor within a given state because they like ‘boots on the ground’. In some states, they don’t have another choice. There are instances where an importer’s portfolio is larger than their chosen purveyor can/will handle. One of the importer’s options in California is to create their own alternative, more targeted sales format to offer items that his in-state purveyor is not working with. On the plus side, we get to see a few other things that we wouldn’t otherwise have access to. On the flip side, there isn’t a local ‘staging area’ for the wines. So buys come via long range shipments of substantial quantities, or not at all since it isn’t practical to just get a case or two. Such a system sometimes has huge benefits for us, and therefore you. But continuity of the product over time often suffers. Vinsacro Rioja is one of those stories.

It was nearly a decade ago we were first presented with Valsacro wines. The ‘Valsacro’ Dioro 2001 was a particularly memorable, classy, hedonistic offering. We saved a few bottles for ourselves and consumed them with gusto over the next couple of years. It was a hard wine not to like, in an engaging, tender, fruit driven style.

Sadly, after that 2001, we didn’t see it any more. The importer Kysela Pere et Fils, was involved with a number of different purveyors over the next few years, something of a shakeout period in the wholesale market. Kysela ‘changed horses’ a time or two, a couple of them closed). Valsacro (as we knew it before) never showed up at any of them. Recently, the importer decided to reintroduce the wine to the marketplace on his own. The winery had changed the name from ‘Valsacro’ to ‘Vinsacro’ (no idea why), but the beautifully textured blackberry/plum juice, and distinctive dusty spice notes caused the memories to come flooding back as soon as we tasted it.

Not only was the ‘Vinscro’ back, the bottling we were presented was from another spectacular vintage, 2010.. The Vinsacro Rioja Dioro 2010 is clearly a reserve level bottling even though the label doesn’t bear the ‘traditional’ wording. In the glass it definitely shows its breeding with dense, plush red and black fruit, pronounced spice, tender edges and ripe tannins. Supple and almost pandering in the mouth, it echoes the philosophy of Vinsacro’s winemaker that ‘wine is to enjoy’.

The vineyard consists of a 120 acre estate on the southern slope of Mount Yerga in the Rioja Baja near the border with Navarra. The Escudero family (who own Vinsacro) has owned this parcel for four generations. The soils here are poor, stony calcerous clay, perfect for grapes. The vineyard is a century old and the grapes are planted to afield blend that the family refers to as ‘Vidau’. The grapes are hand harvested into small crates and the Dioro goes through four separate steps in the selection process, ending up as a ‘best barrels’ cuvee. The lead player in this Rioja is Tempranillo (50%), but there’s a good bit of ‘other’ as well (20% Garnacha, 10% Mazuelo, 10% Graciano, 5% Monastrell and 5% Bobal). Tasting this was déjà vu in the best possible way.

Apparently Wine Advocate’s Luiz Gutierrez was as taken with the Dioro as we were, saying “The 2010 Vinsacro Dioro opens to an explosion of flowers and ripe blueberries that is very perfumed. It feels quite modern and aromatic with well-integrated oak and a luscious palate. This is produced from a field blend they call Vidau, which, in their case it is approximately 50% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo and a myriad of other grapes like Graciano and even Monastrell. The wine aged in brand new French oak barrels for 17 months, and it’s clearly a high-end wine with aspirations…92 points.”

Aspirations, indeed! That is the best part of our little reunion with Vinsacro. Luis in Advocate shows a list price of $46. Thanks to some sort of ‘market mechanics,’ we are able to offer this luscious Rioja for $ 17.98. Given the wine and the price, rest assured we’ve got ours. Seriously good, deliciously drinkable (surely the bottle age helped as well), you need some of this special juice for yourself .