Spanish reds worth trying from Altos in Rioja’s high country

He’s Bordeaux-bred but passionate about making Spanish reds from a unique cool-climate vineyard in Rioja. Meet the winemaker behind the award-winning Altos brand.

The Altos range has been generously awarded over the past two decades.

After more than 40 years of winemaking around the globe, you can safely say Jean-Marc Sauboua has skin in the game – in this case, literally so.

The label on two of his handcrafted Altos reds from the northern reaches of Spain’s Rioja region are adorned with the word “pigeage”, which in French means “plunging”. That’s the viticultural technique of periodically pushing the thick layer of grape skins on top of the fermentation tank back into the juices below to maximise the flavours.

When Sauboua established the Altos winery almost two decades ago, the fashion was to make wine “like coffee, all extraction and percolation and things like that”, he tells The Australian. “With Altos, I said I’m making wine like tea where it’s all about infusion – we take top-notch grapes from old vineyards, sort them by hand, crush them by hand, let them infuse and ‘plunge’ from time to time.”

The proof of the pudding is in this case the almost indecent number of medals and trophies the Altos range has been awarded over the past two decades – accolades that underscore the value in this week’s special-offer case from The Australian Wine Club.

Four different reds from Sauboua’s winery, nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Cantabria mountains, include the 2021 Pigeage Graciano with an RRP of $75 – made with a grape that accounts for just 1 per cent of plantings in Rioja. Graciano’s rich, flavour-intense profile is balanced by a challenging temperament that means Sauboua makes it only in years where the fruit really comes to the party.

There’s another Pigeage in the case, a straight tempranillo from 2020 with an RRP of $58 and more than 100 gold medals that make it the flagship for the range;

You’ll also find the 2019 de la Gardia Reserva, with an RRP of $48, and the 2020 de la Guardia Crianza Rioja Unfiltered, minimally fined to deepen the fruit profile even further.

With the feel of a greatest hits album to showcase the breadth of Sauboua’s repertoire, the Altos case this week comes in at less than $40 a bottle, a discount of close to a quarter.

If you’re wondering, incidentally, about the prominence of a French winemaking term on bottles of Rioja, it helps to understand that Sauboua’s father was French but his mother Spanish.

After decades as a sought-after “flying winemaker” across the globe, 20 years ago he wanted a project of his own, and went exploring the landscapes he knew best.

The soil was crucial – “I’m passionate about grapes grown on limestone, and the minerality that gives to the flavour,” says Sauboua, a graduate of Bordeaux University with countless vintages in that eponymous region to his name since.

You can find that type of soil in the prestigious (and wildly expensive) slopes of Saint-Emilion in Bordeaux – or in the high-altitude parts of Rioja Alavesa, the northernmost subregion of Spain’s best-known wine-producing landscape.

At 700m above sea level that’s where Sauboua established what has been dubbed the bodega – or winery – in the sky.

“It’s cool climate, even though people think that Spain is hot – where I am, it’s covered by snow 10 times a year.

“The Sierra Cantabria (range) is like a wall which protects the vineyards from the very oceanic climate, which in Europe means very rainy – on one side the mountain is very green and luxuriant and on the other it’s pretty dry and you see some vineyards.

“So there’s this freshness in this winery and vineyards and with my dual heritage, I’m trying to make this Rioja wine with a touch of Bordeaux know-how.”

Altos R Pigeage Graciano Rioja 2021

Complex and multi-layered, this shows the range of graciano’s distinctive spiciness – black pepper and baking spices on the nose, along with cedar and blackberry pie, followed by a velvet palate awash with blackberry and plum, some black cherry and the caramel sweetness of balsamic. Beautifully soft tannins and fresh acidity on the finish. 96 points, Catavinum World Wine & Spirits Competition. 14.5% alc, RRP $75 a bottle.

SPECIALS $64.99 in any dozen, $39.99 in our Altos dozen.

Altos R Pigeage 2020

A wine for the senses – opaque ruby to the eye, and suffused with aromas that leap from the glass including darkly red fruits, juicy plum and raspberry, but also the savouriness of tobacco and cedar, persistent spice and even mushroom notes. The palate has cherry and cranberry, truffle notes and a velvety texture that warms to the end of a long finish. 95 points, Catavinum World Wine & Spirits Competition. 14.5% alc, RRP $58 a bottle.

SPECIALS $49.99 in any dozen, $39.99 in our Altos dozen.

Altos de la Guardia Reserva Rioja 2019

Sauboua holds this back for years in the bottle and the reward is an intensity of aroma that sweeps from leather and tobacco to vanilla, dark plums and summer berries, and a hint of clove. Black cherry and raspberry on the tongue are equally concentrated, with hints of tar and dark chocolate. Definitely worth decanting. 14.5% alc, RRP $48 a bottle.

SPECIALS $39.99 in any dozen, $39.99 in our Altos dozen.

Altos de la Guardia Crianza Rioja ‘Unfiltered’ 2020

Another to decant, and you’ll be rewarded on the nose by black fruits, vanilla and spice and all things nice – followed in the mouth by streaks of bramble and strawberry, a plushness on the tongue studded with savoury vignettes including leather and cured meats, and a lovely freshness to finish. 14.5% alc, RRP $26 a bottle.

SPECIALS $18.99 in any dozen, $39.99 in our Altos dozen.

ALTOS DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $39.99 a bottle. SAVE $141.

Order online or phone [phone] Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST and quote ‘AC4D’. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550.