Not much has really changed in the bodega at Roda, so we did a quick tour around the bodega and followed by a longer tasting.  Strangely we could not walk across the main walk way as the Consejo Regulador had decided that the flooring material was not up to code and it had it be replaced. The guy doing the work had an impossibly small sander to do the 60 square meter walk way. Very odd, but it wasn’t the only weird activity we heard about from the guys who regulate the wine trade in Rioja.

Anyway on to the tasting. When prompted for which back vintage I would like to taste, I replied with 98 Roda I. An odd choice really, but its the only Roda I haven’t tasted, it turned out to a winner. The highlight was tasting the 05 Roda and Roda I, both are excellent and I also got the chance to compare with 04 vintage of Roda I.

Roda I 1998 - This is looking quite young, fresh dark cherry fruit with well integrated wood and tannins. The nose is very expressive and the wine is ready to go straight out of the bottle. Very elegant and highly drinkable. Drink now and over the next 5 years if you have some.

Roda 2005 - Possibly the most elegant and perfumed Roda to date. An excellent nose of layered red fruits, dried herbs and flowers, with a bit of mocha coffee and cinnamon. The palate is a little closed at the moment, but shows good structure and super silky tannins.

Roda I 2004 - This is a fairly ballsy wine, loads of dark cherry fruit with some violets and the usual coffee and spice. This stands out as a very structured wine with loads of fruit, very long term wine. More mineral and lean on the palate. Excellent wine.

Roda I 2005 - As with Roda, this is highly perfumed with plush fruit. Violets, roses and dark fruit, earth and spice. Very sexy and silky with huge length. Still quite structured in the mouth, but more generous with fruit and more balanced. This is more my speed, but both the 04 and 05 are excellent and people with love one or both of them.

Roda Cirsion 2006 - Now this stuff is excellent, highly perfumed and ready to go. Reminds me of Rockford Basket Press Shiraz. Loads of juicy fruit and wild herb notes, violets and plums, cherries and minerals.

Roda Cirsion 2007 - This had only been bottled a couple of weeks earlier and wasn’t showing it’s best. However, you wouldn’t really notice that 2007 is a lesser vintage, concentration and balance with out being over extracted (which is common in a number of high expression wines from Rioja)

We finished off with a tasting of their two oils, both are excellent, if you haven’t tried them, go out and grab some. Overall, thi.ngs are Roda are travelling along nicely, however as I just found out, things are getting better with the addition of a Ribera del Duero property to the fold. The new estate will be developed along similar lines, however I believe that all of the fruit will come from the 22 ha of vines on the new property (which is more the way things are done over there). Stay tuned for updates.