Bodegas Roda

Bodegas Roda was founded in 1987 by Mario Rotllant Solá and his then-wife Carmen Daurella de Aguilera (a member of the Barcelona Daurella family closely linked to Spain's Coca-Cola bottling business). The winery name is a contraction of their surnames: Ro from Rotllant, Da from Daurella. The project was conceived in 1987 and construction of the bodega began in 1991 above a 19th-century underground cellar (calado) in Haro's Barrio de la Estación, on the banks of the Ebro River. The Barrio de la Estación district hosts the largest concentration of century-old wineries anywhere in the world, including R. López de Heredia (1877), CVNE (1879), Gómez Cruzado (1886), La Rioja Alta (1890), and Bodegas Bilbaínas (1901); Roda placed itself at the centre of this historic district while pursuing an aesthetic and stylistic project radically different from the classical model around it. The winery has been expanded across multiple phases (1991, 1996, 2000, 2018), with two aging rooms bored directly into the rock. When Roda released its first wines from the 1992 vintage, it was swimming against the prevailing Rioja current. While the region was largely defined by long aging in American oak and the blending of multiple years, Roda chose French oak exclusively, rejected multi-vintage blending, and placed the vineyard at the centre of every winemaking decision. This approach, now widely imitated, helped demonstrate that modern viticultural techniques and terroir-driven thinking could produce wines of international caliber while maintaining Rioja's essential character. The winery has since funded ongoing research and development across viticulture and oenology, and holds the Sustainable Wineries for Climate Protection certification developed by the Spanish Wine Federation. Roda's wines are distributed in more than 50 countries worldwide, and the project remains one of the benchmarks for the modern, terroir-driven school of Rioja that emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s alongside Finca Allende, Artadi, Remírez de Ganuza, and Compañía de Vinos Telmo Rodríguez.

• Founded 1987 by Mario Rotllant Solá and Carmen Daurella in Haro's Barrio de la Estación; the name Roda is a contraction of the founders' surnames
• Located above a 19th-century underground calado in the historic railway-station district alongside R. López de Heredia, CVNE, Gómez Cruzado, La Rioja Alta, and Bodegas Bilbaínas
• Winery construction began in 1991 and expanded across multiple architectural phases (1991, 1996, 2000, 2018), with two aging rooms bored directly into the rock
• Mario Rotllant Solá and Carmen Daurella came to Rioja with the intention of creating a project that would bring something new to the wine world
• Rejected American oak and multi-vintage blending from the outset, a revolutionary stance in late-1980s Rioja
• Exclusively French oak across the entire range; bottled without filtration or fining
• Holds Sustainable Wineries for Climate Protection certification developed by the Spanish Wine Federation
• Distributed in more than 50 countries; benchmark for the modern terroir-driven school of Rioja that emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s

Roda controls 120 hectares of vineyard in Rioja Alta in total, with 70 hectares self-owned and 50 hectares farmed under long-term agreements with local growers; all sites are managed directly by the Roda team. The vineyards span altitudes from approximately 380 metres to 650 metres above sea level across multiple ecosystems shaped by the convergence of Atlantic, Mediterranean, and continental climate influences in the Obarenes Mountains. The core vineyards are old bush vines (en vaso) of 35 to over 100 years of age, dry-farmed on predominantly sandstone and clay-limestone soils around Haro, with yields strictly limited per vine. In 2019, the winery acquired higher-altitude plots in Cellorigo to address climate change, and planted Tempranillo there in 2021 using a keyline design to retain rainwater. The Enit research vineyard, planted at 550 metres altitude near Cubillas, preserves a large collection of distinct Riojan cultivars from a multi-year identification programme that catalogued hundreds of Tempranillo clones, with a small number selected for propagation across the estate.

• 120 hectares of vineyard total: 70 hectares self-owned and 50 hectares under long-term agreements with local growers, all managed by the Roda team
• Altitudes from approximately 380 to 650 metres across multiple ecosystems shaped by Atlantic, Mediterranean, and continental climate influences in the Obarenes Mountains
• Old bush vines (en vaso) 35 to over 100 years old, dry-farmed on sandstone and clay-limestone soils; yields strictly limited per vine
• Enit research vineyard at 550 metres near Cubillas preserves a large collection of distinct Riojan cultivars from a multi-year clonal identification programme; 2019 Cellorigo purchase adds high-altitude plots

Roda's portfolio comprises five wines. Sela is a 100% Tempranillo from the estate's younger bush vines (averaging 15 to 30 years of age), aged 12 months in second-use French oak barrels for early drinking. Roda is the flagship red, built from parcels where Tempranillo has ripened to a red-fruit profile; the recent 2022 vintage was bottled at 91% Tempranillo, 7% Graciano, and 2% Garnacha, aged 14 months in barrel and a further 20 months in bottle before release. Roda I selects darker-fruited, more structured Tempranillo parcels, typically with a small addition of Graciano; the 2022 vintage was 92% Tempranillo and 8% Graciano, aged 16 months in barrel (50% new and 50% second-use French oak) followed by 20 months in bottle. Cirsion, first commercially released from the 1998 vintage, is a plant-by-plant selection of vines exhibiting naturally long-chain tannins, blended with a higher proportion of Graciano than the rest of the range (the 1998 was approximately 86% Tempranillo and 14% Graciano), aged just 8 months in 100% new French oak. Roda I Blanco, first released from the 2019 vintage, is a field blend of old-vine white varieties.

• Sela: 100% Tempranillo from bush vines averaging 15 to 30 years of age; 12 months in second-use French oak; designed for earlier drinking
• Roda (2022 vintage): 91% Tempranillo, 7% Graciano, 2% Garnacha; 14 months in barrel plus 20 months in bottle before release
• Roda I (2022 vintage): 92% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano; 16 months in barrel (50% new and 50% second-use French oak) plus 20 months in bottle
• Cirsion: plant-by-plant tannin-selection project first commercially released from the 1998 vintage (approximately 86% Tempranillo, 14% Graciano in the 1998 blend); 8 months in 100% new French oak

Roda's wines occupy a distinct space between classical and modern Rioja. Roda pursues a red-fruit profile, with cherry, raspberry, and sweet spice carrying into a fresh, silky, continuous palate. Roda I moves toward darker fruit, mineral depth, and a more structured frame while retaining the house hallmark of polished long-chain tannins. Cirsion is the fullest expression of this tannin philosophy: enormous palate volume paired with minimal weight, silky and enveloping on the palate, with violet, dark berry, and spice on the nose. Across the range, the insistence on spontaneous fermentation in French oak vats, malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels, gravity decanting, and bottling without filtration or fining preserves the character of each vineyard and vintage. Managing director Agustín Santolaya frames the goal as wines that balance volume with airiness, made to enjoy at the table rather than to impress at a tasting bench.

• Roda: red cherry and raspberry profile, sweet spice, fresh and silky palate with well-integrated oak
• Roda I: darker fruit, mineral and graphite complexity, more structured tannins, built for longer cellaring
• Cirsion: enormous palate volume with minimal weight; silky long-chain tannins; violet, dark berry, fresh spice
• All reds fermented spontaneously in French oak vats, malolactic in French oak barrels, gravity-decanted, and bottled unfiltered and unfined

Beyond Rioja, the Roda group also operates Bodegas La Horra in Ribera del Duero, founded in 2009 by Bodegas Roda and located in La Horra (Burgos); La Horra produces Corimbo and Corimbo I from Tinta del País. The group also owns Aubocassa in Mallorca, an olive oil estate. Carlos Díez de la Concepción, who joined the project in June 1991, serves as technical director and oversees winemaking across the group, while Agustín Santolaya leads as managing director. Roda's wines have accumulated consistent critical acclaim across the range since the first commercial releases in the mid-1990s, and the project remains a benchmark for the modern terroir-driven school of Rioja. The Cirsion project in particular continues to define a small category of plant-by-plant tannin-selection wines distinguished by very short oak aging and bunch-by-bunch selection from old bush vines.

• Bodegas La Horra in Ribera del Duero (founded 2009 by Bodegas Roda) produces Corimbo and Corimbo I from Tinta del País
• Aubocassa in Mallorca is the group's olive oil estate
• Carlos Díez de la Concepción technical director (joined June 1991); Agustín Santolaya managing director
• Cirsion's plant-by-plant tannin-selection method continues to define a small high-end category distinguished by very short oak aging and bunch-by-bunch selection