1995 Cerro Añón Reserva (Rioja)

While Bodegas Olarra is substantially expanding its Ondarre operation in the Rioja Alta, it will keep production fairly stable at its own home base. But, according to export manager Candido Latorre, Olarra will sharply reduce the amount of young wines it has heretofore produced in favor of a higher percentage of reserva Bottle prices for tinto joven are becoming too high for the Spanish market, and local consumers are looking to other regions of Spain for good cheap young wine, explains Latorre. At the same time, he adds, Olarra has been phasing out gran reserva since 1989, as these wines are too expensive in Spain and the rest of Europe, where Olarra derives most of its sales.x000D x000D x000D x000D Olarra owns less than 5% of its grapes, instead buying fruit mostly around its home base of Logrono through long-term contracts. The bodega uses mostly American oak, and in recent years has been increasing the percentage of new barrels-"at 100 miles per hour," according to Latorre. "The influence of the New World has been important," he explains. "Today people are looking for wines with more color-more aggressive, more astringent wines. We think that new oak combined with the grapes of Rioja can make a very successful wine." The Olarra reservas now feature at least 50% new oak, while the Mayor de Ondarre is aged in all new barrels and the Ondarre reserva 50%. Indeed, the framing and freshening influence of more new oak may well give these warm, meaty, comparatively southerly wines a bit more delineation and grip.