The top wine from Bodegas Roda offers us an exaltation of aromas and sensations. It comes from a selection of clusters from old vineyard plots and has spent 8 months in new French oak barrels. Cirsion 2019 (Excellent vintage) is a structured, elegant, very fresh, and incredibly long red wine, leaving on the palate sensations of fruits, damp earth, and fresh spices.
Consumption features
Serving temperature
General features
Type of wine
Region
Grape variety
12% Graciano, 88% Tempranillo
Type of barrel
100% new French oak barrels
Barrel aging time
8 months
Capacity (cl)
75
Alcohol content (% vol.)
14.5
General Information
Cirsion 2019 was born from an extraordinary vintage in terms of quality and low production. It is composed of 88% tempranillo and 12% graciano. Its origin lies in a selection of clusters from various plots of old vineyards, chosen based on the results of studies on the polymerization of tannins and anthocyanins in the grapes themselves. Alcoholic fermentation took place in French oak vats with controlled temperature, and malolactic fermentation occurred in French oak barrels. Finally, it underwent an 8-month aging process in 100% new French oak barrels.
Roda is the youngest winery in the famous Barrio de la Estación in Haro. Founded in the late eighties by Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurella, it has the winemaker Agustín Santolaya leading the production. It is one of the wineries that spearheaded the Rioja wine revolution in the 1990s, focusing on crafting wines from very specific vineyards. A model winery that combines the most advanced technology with a wise reinterpretation of traditions. Vineyard selection and excellent fieldwork are its hallmarks.
For Bodegas Roda, finding the vineyards they wanted required a long time studying different soils. Eventually, they selected about twenty plots, only producing from the best 17 each vintage; all cultivated with old vines on poor soils, applying sustainable viticulture. Their range of wines includes the labels: Cirsion (at the elite level of Spanish wine), Roda I, Roda, Roda Blanco, and Sela. Since 2021, the winery has held the Wineries for Climate Protection Certification for its commitment to sustainability and the environment.
Cirsion 2019 (D.O.Ca. Rioja) is a very gastronomic wine. It pairs especially well with spoon dishes and meats.
Creators' opinion
Color: It is very intense, with a deep cherry red background and a rim of the same shade.
Nose: Highly intense, just by serving it in the glass, it creates a halo of aromas that fills the surroundings with a captivating sensation. Behind a slightly smoky veil, an impressive landscape emerges. Black fruits sprinkled with flashes of redness. The sensation of wind carrying the scent of rain. A field of violets in the background. Exquisite spices, among which clove and freshly ground black pepper stand out. Subtle notes of cocoa and licorice. An aromatic harmony that defines the great Cirsion wines.
Palate: A full, voluminous, and airy sensation at the same time. It is the definition of volume without weight. The tannin is extremely fine, and freshness is present everywhere. Fruits, damp earth, and fresh spices can be felt again. Volume, freshness, and elegance define its passage through the palate. A conceptual confluence between the voluminous and the light, between breadth and length. Why do we seek to segment when a great wine can have it all?
This Cirsion makes you enjoy and think at the same time, about the dimensions of the senses. It has captured so many details of the vintage and the landscape, it is so full of nuances, that it takes hours to decipher them and only seconds to transport you to happiness. I am intrigued to know its evolution over the decades, to discover all that it has hidden. It is an example of how wine is the only dynamic way to bottle time. The details that are lost in seconds in the natural scale of time and space remain fixed in wine for decades and evolve in different dimensions. The vineyard is the most telluric of crops, and when the sky merges with the earth, wonders like this arise. It is one of those wines that give meaning to so many years of effort from a team, in the vineyard, in the winery, and in the market.
The winery
Under the direction of Agustín Santolaya (manager of the firm), Roda has been one of the leading wineries in the Rioja renewal of the 1990s. In the late 1980s, during a period of transformation in Spain's winemaking model, Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurella arrived in La Rioja with the passionate intention of creating a project that would bring something new to the world of wine. Although it seemed that everything had already been done in the centuries-old Rioja, they decided to embark on their adventure. The name of the winery, Roda, comes from the initials of the surnames of both founders (Ro-Da).
In 1991, the philosophy was forged, and Roda quickly positioned itself at the forefront of the best Rioja wineries, thanks to the involvement of an oversized technical team. They decided to work exclusively with native red varieties, such as Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Graciano, fully respecting the vintage, without using wines from other years to standardize or refresh a harvest. Roda wines are wines that draw the essence of the vineyard, soil, climate, and landscape, crafted for enjoyment. The secret of their success lies not only in the magnificent raw materials sourced from the best ecosystems in the area, from which the 17 best are vinified each year, but also in the application of the best winemaking technologies.