The deep connection that these two cities share will be revealed in the first edition of Barrio de la Estación International Wine Encounters I: Bordeaux, which opens up to the great wine regions of the world. The meeting will showcase the origins of the best Rioja wine through a tasting on a par with the most prestigious Bordeaux appellations and the attendance of six of the most legendary châteaux from regions such as Saint Émilion, Pomerol and Pauillac.
Haro and Bordeaux will come together on 21 March at Barrio de la Estación International Wine Encounters, a meeting that will celebrate its first edition showing the link that goes back more than 150 years, when the phylloxera crisis decimated the French vineyards.
The assistance provided between the two cities has transcended the centuries and has contributed greatly to the success and development of the great wines of La Rioja. BEIWE is open to the great wine regions of the world, and this first edition will feature six châteaux representing the seven most famous Bordeaux appellations: Saint-Estèphe, Pauillac, Saint-Julien, Margaux, Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol and Saint-Emilion.
The exceptional nature of this event is that it is rarely possible to bring together a group of internationally renowned Bordeaux châteaux to represent each of the great appellations of their wines outside the international tastings organised by L’Union des Grands Crus, where the châteaux wishing to participate present only their latest vintages in order to promote them.
The invited châteaux travelling from Bordeaux are: Château Smith Haut Lafitte (Grand Cru Classé de Pessac-Léognan); Château Rauzan-Ségla (Deuxième Grand Cru Classé de Margaux); Château Lynch Bages (Cinquième Grand Cru Classé de Pauillac); Château Léoville Barton (Deuxième Grand Cru Classé de Saint-Julien); Château Petit Village (Pomerol) and Château Canon La Gaffelière (Premier Grand Cru Classé de Saint-Émilion).
The Bordeaux wines will be tasted alongside the most special wines from the six wineries in the Barrio: Bodegas Bilbaínas- Viña Pomal, CVNE, Bodegas Muga, Gómez Cruzado, La Rioja Alta, S.A. and Bodegas RODA. “The Barrio de la Estación Wineries Association is going to host six great houses in a unique twinning, in which two great world-class wine regions meet to show their particularities and how that Haro-Bordeaux connection, which was particularly relevant since the end of the 19th century, is still somehow kept alive in the work of producers with a common goal: to make the best possible wines in their territory”, declares the president of the Barrio de la Estación Wineries Association and promoter of the event, María Urrutia.
Complementary activities at the Barrio de la Estación Wineries
The day will be rounded off with a gastronomic area and different activities that will take place in each of the six wineries. Thus, Bodegas Bilbaínas will show the mastery of disgorging its sparkling wines, now under the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin; CVNE will hold a vertical tasting of four vintages of Real de Asúa at its facilities; Bodegas Muga, which has its own active cooperage, will show attendees the importance of wood in wine, from the cultivation and growth of oak to the toasting of the barrel; Gómez Cruzado will show six years of its most emblematic white wine, Montes Obarenes, from 2013 to 2018; La Rioja Alta, S. A., will host a horizontal tasting of the extraordinary 2001 vintage, the first great vintage of the century; and Bodegas RODA will take a walk through its historical moments through a tasting of non-commercialised wines.attendees may attend by prior reservation and registration in the activities of their choice. All security measures will be in place at BEIWE.
