WINE OF THE WEEK: Bodegas Roda Sela Rioja 2023, Rioja, Spain

£19.50–£26.50, The Champagne Company, London End Wines, Givino, Drink Finder, Noble Green Wines

Red Rioja in summer? Sure. Sela is a summery Rioja, although that’s not to say it wouldn’t be just as welcome in the depths of winter. It would. But it’s not the traditional comfort-style of Rioja that depends on oak and age for its character and loves nothing more than a fire-side setting. 

Bodegas Roda Sela is new-wave Rioja from a new-wave winery. Founded in 1980, Roda focused from the outset on the individual plots in the vineyards and uncovering the best clones of Tempranillo. They identified no fewer than 552 clones before choosing 20 to propagate.

Sela, Roda’s entry-level wine, is made from its younger vines. Even so, they’re 15–30 years old – not exactly toddlers – and they’re sustainably cultivated bush vines from which yields are deliberately limited. 

Sela is matured for 12 months in semi-new French oak barrels (so, could be labelled Crianza but isn’t) and the fruit really shines – rich, juicy red cherries and raspberries with a fragrant whiff of violets and a lift of black/red currant freshness on the palate. The oak is a delicate, spicy presence, giving velvet-smoothness and silky tannins as well as underlying structure. 

There’s no need to age the 2023 Sela any further, but it will evolve over the next two or three years and could be kept for the same again after that.

With no intrusive oak or tannins, it’s versatile with food – an ally of almost anything at a barbecue except oily and delicate white fish, but there's no need to hold back on the tuna steaks. I enjoyed it with spatchcocked poussin with ancho chilli, garlic and rosemary, with slow-roast tomatoes, with a plate of charcuterie and with ossau iraty. 13.5%. Empty bottle weight: 522g. 

Bodegas Roda Sela 2023, Rioja, Spain

£19.50, The Champagne Company, £21.50, London End Wines, £22.20, Givino, £24.99, Drink Finder, £26.50, Noble Green Wines, £27.95, Secret Bottle Shop

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