«Graciano was a real crush for me, I think it is a grape with a great future for Rioja»

Graciano, barely 2% of the DOCa Rioja vineyard, is a minority, native and also demanding grape. Mercedes García Rupérez met her when she arrived in Rioja in 2008, at Bodegas Montecillo. She is responsible for the market launch of the Viña Monty range, a collection of three high-end varietals, one of them Graciano, which was chosen as the best varietal in the world by the International Wine Challenge in the 2015 harvest. Now, the next vintage , the 2016, has just been recognized by the Decanter awards, with 97 points, as the best ‘Best in Show’, one of the 50 best wines of 2024 for the British publication.

– What is happening to you with the Graciano?

– That I love. For me it was a crush. As soon as I arrived in Rioja, I started vinifying it separately and incorporating it into the tempranillos at 5/6%, and now there are tempranillos that contain 20%. In 2015, after two years of testing, we put it on the market as a varietal and the response has been spectacular.

– It is part of the Viña Monty collection, also a Grenache and another Viura varietal.

– That’s how it is. We are a winery that is more than a century old (1870) and Viña Monty was a brand from the 40s of the last century, already with that striking green color and in a burgundy bottle, which is what we have recovered with the new collection, also as parcel wines and varietals, from specific vineyards as in their origin.

– What is the key to the Graciano?

– In this case it comes from a Cenicero vineyard. It is not an easy variety. In 2017, for example, the vineyard suffered a severe frost and there was no wine; In 2018 it did not ripen well, so we will have to wait for the 2019 harvest, although there is still at least a year left in the bottle, to renew the vintage because it needs its time. It is a variety with a great future, which likes heat and long cycles, so it adapts to this type of harvest that we have been having in recent years and those that seem to be coming.

– It is not easy to taste either

– It is not a conventional wine. It is more mineral, spicy and powerful than Tempranillo. It is not a ‘traditional’ Rioja, but, above all, you have to reach the point of ripeness because if you go too little it can be very green and vegetal and, if you go too far, it becomes heavy.

– And does it also require ‘tailored’ upbringing?

– Yes. The Graciano sets its own rules in harvesting, processing and aging. In Montecillo, as a century-old winery, all our wines are made without haste, with long aging in wood and also in bottle. For the Graciano, it is very necessary. In this case, he makes malolactic in cement and then spends 28-30 months in the barrel and almost three more years in the bottle.

– Rioja is making the best wines in its history, but this is how we are… What a shame, right?

– A lot. The problem is that we have done things wrong and we have to do them right again. Great wines are being made in this region, but, overall, we must once again focus on quality, reduce production and, if necessary, even remove vineyards that are not suitable for quality. A fundamental aspect would be to control the wines by tasting before going on the market. If we do things well again, Rioja has a lot to say.