José Gil: A Different Face of Rioja
This is one of the most exciting young projects in Rioja.
Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, February 2024
2022 Rioja, Vinedos en Labastida, José Gil
£155 per 6 bottle case in bond
2022 Rioja, El Bardallo, José Gil
£225 per 6 bottle case in bond
2022 Rioja, La Canoca, José Gil
£235 per 6 bottle case in bond
2022 Rioja, Vinedos en San Vicente de la Sonsierra, José Gil
£155 per 6 bottle case in bond
Rioja deserves a bit more commentary, particularly as few regions have changed more dramatically over the last decade. For much of its modern history, Rioja was defined by ageing classifications. Consumers were encouraged to think in terms of Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva, with time in barrel and bottle often afforded greater significance than the vineyards from which the fruit originated. That system undoubtedly produced some of Spain's greatest wines and remains an important part of Rioja's identity today. Yet a new generation of growers is increasingly challenging the established order. Inspired as much by Burgundy, Piemonte and the Rhône as by Rioja's own traditions, these producers have shifted the focus away from maturation and towards origin. Their emphasis lies not on how long a wine has rested in oak, but on where the fruit was grown.
The result has been one of the most exciting developments in European wine. Across Rioja, village wines and single-vineyard bottlings are revealing a remarkable diversity of soils, exposures, altitudes, and microclimates that had long been obscured within large-scale blends. Increasingly, these terroir-driven wines are among the most compelling bottles being produced in Spain. Among the leading figures of this movement is José Gil.
A third-generation grower from San Vicente de la Sonsierra, José established his own project after studying oenology and working both in Rioja and abroad. Together with his partner, Vicky Fernández, he farms a small collection of organically managed vineyards beneath the Sierra Cantabria in San Vicente, Labastida and neighbouring villages. Their philosophy is refreshingly straightforward: to capture the personality of individual sites through careful farming and sensitive winemaking. Fermentations take place naturally in concrete, extraction is gentle, and maturation is deliberately understated in larger-format oak vessels. Rather than imposing a house style, José and Vicky seek to allow each vineyard to speak with its own voice.
The wines have rapidly established a reputation among critics and collectors alike, not only because they offer exceptional quality, but because they capture a side of Rioja that feels increasingly relevant today: transparent, site-specific, and unmistakably rooted in place. The four wines offered here provide a fascinating journey through some of the finest vineyard sites of the Sonsierra and its surrounding villages.
Labastida
Labastida sits immediately west of San Vicente beneath the imposing limestone escarpment of the Sierra Cantabria. The village has long been regarded as one of Rioja Alavesa's most privileged locations, combining altitude, limestone soils and a naturally cooler climate that helps preserve freshness. José's Labastida is sourced from a small collection of vineyards totalling less than a hectare, planted predominantly to Tempranillo with small proportions of Garnacha and traditional white varieties interplanted amongst the vines. The old vineyards sit on clay-limestone soils and are farmed organically, with all work carried out manually.
The resulting wine is beautifully poised and energetic, offering a slightly more lifted and open-knit expression than some of José's Sonsierra bottlings. Floral notes, red berry fruit and subtle mineral nuances combine with the freshness and precision that have become hallmarks of his style. For those new to the estate, Labastida is perhaps the perfect introduction: a wine that combines accessibility and elegance while remaining unmistakably terroir-driven.
2022 Rioja, Vinedos en Labastida, José Gil
£155 per 6 bottle case in bond
92 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com
I also tasted the 2022 Viñedos en Labastida. The wines are produced in a similar way to highlight the differences of the places and vintages. In 2022, it's a similar blend of different plots with some 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 5% white grapes, and it had a similar vinification and élevage in 500- and 600-liter oak foudres in their cave. It's very primary and fruit-driven, with a nose of ripe berries and herbs, a lactic twist and a fine thread in the palate, with surprisingly fine tannins for a 2022. 3,600 bottles were filled in September 2023. Drink 2026-2030
El Bardallo
El Bardallo is situated northwest of San Vicente, beneath the celebrated slopes of Remelluri. Here, northeast-facing bush vines around forty years of age are rooted in calcareous clay-limestone soils at approximately 515 metres above sea level. The exposure and soil composition produce a markedly different expression from José's other vineyards. El Bardallo is often regarded as the most linear and structured of the range, combining floral aromatics with a distinctly chalky, mineral profile.
There is a sense of precision and tension to this wine that immediately recalls some of Europe's great limestone terroirs. The fruit profile tends towards darker berries and plums, while the palate is shaped by fine-grained tannins and remarkable energy. For me, El Bardallo perfectly illustrates why Rioja's vineyard-focused movement is proving so compelling. Rather than broad regional character, we encounter the personality of a specific place, delivered with striking clarity.
2022 Rioja, El Bardallo, José Gil
£225 per 6 bottle case in bond
94 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com
As with La Canoca, the 2022 El Bardallo changes from a single-vineyard to a paraje (lieu-dit) wine and includes more plots in the same place to increase the volume of wine produced. It's Tempranillo with some 10% white grapes, mostly Viura. It fermented with some whole-cluster fruit and indigenous yeasts and matured in 500- and 600-liter barrels. It's quite fruit-driven, aromatic and reminiscent of the old carbonic-fermentation reds matured in barrel, juicy and velvety, with abundant, chalky tannins and a dry finish. 3,200 bottles were filled in September 2023. Drink 2024-2031
La Canoca
If El Bardallo represents precision and structure, La Canoca brings an altogether different personality. This tiny parcel of barely half a hectare lies on cooler slopes above San Vicente, planted primarily to Tempranillo with a small proportion of Viura. The vineyard sits at significant altitude on silty limestone soils, surrounded by wild herbs and exposed to cooling influences from the Sierra Cantabria. Only a portion of the harvest is bottled separately each year, making production extremely limited.
The site consistently yields one of José Gil's most distinctive wines. While retaining freshness and elegance, La Canoca possesses greater breadth and depth than El Bardallo. Aromatically expressive and intensely mineral, it combines beautifully detailed fruit with savoury complexity and a persistent, limestone-inflected finish. It is a wine that seems to unite power and finesse with remarkable ease and one that has become a benchmark for the new generation of Rioja producers.
2022 Rioja, La Canoca, José Gil
£235 per 6 bottle case in bond
95 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com
There is a change in the 2022 La Canoca, as this year it's no longer a single-vineyard wine but a paraje, or lieu-dit, wine that includes more plots from the same place. Therefore, volumes have grown from 500 bottles in the previous vintage to 3,200 in 2022. This is surprisingly fresh, harmonious and elegant, getting closer to the character of the 2021s, closer than any of the other 2022s. It slowly opened up in the glass to floral notes, hints of wild herbs and crushed stones. The palate is solid and complete, with fine, chalky tannins and a long and tasty finish. It was bottled in September 2023. Drink 2024-2032
San Vicente de la Sonsierra
No village has done more to shape José Gil's winemaking identity than San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Perched above the Ebro River and sheltered by the Sierra Cantabria, San Vicente is one of Rioja's great viticultural villages. Its mosaic of valleys, ridges, exposures and soils provides extraordinary diversity within a remarkably small area. José's village wine draws upon a selection of parcels scattered throughout this landscape, creating a broader portrait of the village rather than a single site. If the parcel wines focus on individual nuances, San Vicente captures the wider character of the village itself.
The wine combines vibrant red fruit, savoury complexity, freshness and fine mineral structure. It serves both as a superb introduction to José's work and as a testament to the quality of this remarkable corner of Rioja. Most importantly, it demonstrates how the concept of a village wine, so familiar in Burgundy, can offer a more meaningful expression of origin than the traditional classifications that once defined the region.
2022 Rioja, Vinedos en San Vicente de la Sonsierra, José Gil
£155 per 6 bottle case in bond
93 points, Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com
The 2022 Viñedos en San Vicente de la Sonsierra was produced in the same way as the 2021 that I tasted next to it, trying to express finesse and purity in a warmer and ripe year. The wine has similar parameters, 13.9% alcohol. It's surprisingly fresh and harmonious for a 2022, close to the 2021 from the same village, with some floral hints and a seamless palate, juicy and with round tannins. 15,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2024. Drink 2025-2030
While Rioja's traditional Reservas and Gran Reservas remain an important part of the region's heritage, it is increasingly growers such as José Gil who make Rioja feel one of the most dynamic wine regions in Europe today. These wines encourage us to think differently about Rioja. They ask us to focus not on ageing regimes or famous Bodegas, but on villages, vineyards, soils and exposures. They offer nuance instead of uniformity and individuality instead of formula.
Most importantly, they remind us that Rioja possesses a wealth of exceptional vineyard sites capable of producing wines every bit as captivating as those of Europe's most celebrated regions. For anyone interested in where Rioja is heading rather than simply where it has been, José Gil is undoubtedly a producer to follow.
Please note the wines will be shipped in mid-October.
Please let us know of your interest.
Simon
simon.larkin@atlasfinewines.com