The writer and wine critic for Robert Parker’s journal ‘The Wine Advocate’, Luis Gutiérrez, has journeyed through time with iconic wines from CVNE, Gómez Cruzado, La Rioja Alta S.A., Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal, MUGA and Bodegas RODA in a musical tasting before an audience of nearly 200 wine lovers who have enjoyed travelling through seven decades of the Barrio de la Estación (“Station Quarter” of Haro, with the ‘Marquesina’ of Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal as his stage.
Luis Gutiérrez’s masterclass has offered an incomparable experience for wine lovers to enjoy the cult labels, some over a century old, from vintages which, for the most part, are no longer available on the market. Pancrudo 2021 and Montes Obarenes 2016, from Gómez Cruzado; Gran Reserva 904 2005 and Gran Reserva 890 1981, from La Rioja Alta, S.A.; RODA I 1997, from Bodegas RODA; Prado Enea Gran Reserva 1970, from Muga; Viña Pomal Gran Reserva 1966, from Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal and Viña Real Gran Reserva 1962, from CVNE, were the wines chosen by Luis Gutiérrez to Delve into seven decades of tradition and modernity of the Barrio de la Estación, with an eclectic musical selection ranging from Adele and Green Day to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, via Simon&Garfunkel.
The 2024 “Engine Driver” for the Cata del Barrio de la Estación has roused the memories of the senses of smell, sound and sight, through the emblematic wines of the wine cellars of the Station Quarter, setting them in the historical context against which they were made. In conversation with the winemakers, he has revealed how the wines are testimony of a vintage and of the society which saw their birth.
Always with the aim of providing a tasting with a difference, allowing a different perception of the wines, Luis Gutiérrez has linked the vintages with the social, economic and cultural background, and has highlighted figures from the world of politics, the cinema, la music or sport who form part of the collective memory, playing with time.
Before the tasting with Luis Gutiérrez tonight he is giving a concert with his band ‘The Winedrinkers’ in the gardens of Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal. In parallel, in this same setting there will be snacks served with various wines from the bodegas of the Association, CVNE, Bodegas Bilbaínas-Viña Pomal, Gómez Cruzado, La Rioja Alta S.A., Muga and Bodegas RODA.
The event is the prelude to the Cata del Barrio de la Estación, which takes place tomorrow, Saturday 15 June in this Haro enclave, the biggest concentration of century-old wine cellars in the world, as the grand celebration of wine and food to enjoy the prestigious wines from the Barrio de la Estación and the offerings of six Michelin-starred restaurants.
