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Baron de Ley

Although only established in 1985, Baron de Ley has already earned a reputation as a producer of tasty, modern, good value Rioja. Intent on producing wines of quality, with a Bordeaux model in mind, the proprietors acquired the Imas Estate, on the banks of the River Ebro, in the early 1980s. The estate, complete with ancient vineyards, also included a 16th century Benedictine monastery, which today serves as both headquarters and wine cellar for Baron de Ley. The new owners planted 90 hectares of vines, the majority naturally being Tempranillo. Nevertheless, 20 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon were planted, as under Rioja regulations such vines may be planted with an 'experimental' status. In 1995 a further eight hectares of Tempranillo were planted, most of this being on the steep terraces that lie next to the vineyard.

Viticultural practices are quality orientated, starting with hand harvesting. As the grapes arrive at the winery, which was constructed within the grounds of the estate in the late 1980s, machine destemming precedes the transfer of the uncrushed grapes to tanks for fermentation in stainless steel. This is a temperature controlled procedure, usually at a maximum of 29-30°C, with 16 days of skin contact in order to allow transfer of colour and extract into the wine. Subsequently, the young wine is transferred to more stainless steel vats where malolactic fermentation is encouraged. Subsequently the wine is transferred into oak for a period of ageing.

As with the vast majority of Rioja oak ageing is an important part of the elévage of the wine. At Baron de Ley a combination of French and American oak barrels are used, although the majority of the 11000 barrels used are American, as is the norm with many Riojan producers. Increasingly, however, French oak from Alliers has been used. No doubt this reflects the changing style of wine being produced by many 'new wave' Riojan producers. According to regulations for Rioja, oak ageing consists of 12 months for Reserva wines and 24 months for the Gran Reservas. Baron de Ley wines continue their ageing in accordance with Riojan regulations in the Baron de Ley buildings, which can house up to four million bottles of the Reserva wine. The Gran Reserva is stored in the Benedictine monastery which has a half million bottle capacity. Reservas are aged for a further two years in bottle, whereas Gran Reservas see another three years at least before release. (25/07/01)

Contact details:
Address: Apartado de coreos 1091, 26080 Logroño, Rioja
Telephone: +34 948 694 303
Fax: +34 948 694 304
Internet: www.barondeley.com

Baron de Ley - Tasting Notes

The following wine was tasted in May 2004. Click to locate stockists.

Baron de Ley Rioja Finca Monasterio 2000: Baron de Ley is a large estate created with a Bordeaux-like philosophy producing widely available, new-wave Rioja. This is their attempt at a premium cuveee. Not even a piece of embossed plastic for a label could dissuade me from trying it once. It has a dark red-black hue, concentrated right out to the rim. Firstly intense blackberries and liquorice on the nose, then some smoke and rubber, and a goodly amount of French oak. Immediately apparent on the palate is the texture and extract that is present. It has lashings of each, with ripe, supple tannins and decent acidity too. A really big wine, with some structure, although there is an artificial, slightly blowsy, anabolic steroid induced characteristic too. 15.5/20

I tasted the following wines in March and July 2001.

Baron de Ley Rioja Blanco 1999: Pale wine. Gives little on the nose. Harsh palate, unchecked acidity, and quite characterless. Poor.

Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva 1994:. Quite a noticeable tawny edge to this wine, with a mature nose of medicinal, macerated fruit. Mature, perhaps even tired fruit on the palate, with a touch of oxidation, and soft, dry tannins. Seems a little dilute through the midpalate. Overall seems quite clumsily put together. Quite different to my previous tasting (see below). On reflection, I think this bottle has suffered through poor storage. Faulty.

Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva 1995: This is more like it. A deep and characterful red-black wine. Crushed black fruits on the nose, with plenty of soot, tar, and cigar smoke complexity. Medium to full bodied on the palate, with crushed blackberry and blueberry flavours mirroring the aromas found on the nose. Quite sooty, tarry, hard tannins, but they sit well with the plentiful fruit and strong acidity. Notes of charcoal and charred wood. Despite all this character the wine has a restrained, almost elegant texture. I keep searching for more obvious oak derived elements but they aren't there. A strong, hard finish. Good.

Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva 1996: Again a deep, richly coloured red wine. Unsurprisingly this has a much more youthful nose, with aromas of crushed raspberry and lots of vanilla and spice derived from American oak maturation. This wine has ripe, firm, integrated tannins, together with an attractive, full body. Lots of raspberry fruit with a slightly medicinal twist, culminating in an appealing length. This wine needs another year or two for the prominent oak to integrate, during which further complexity should appear. Good.

Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva 1997: A young and vibrant red wine. Ripe blueberry fruit on the nose, with a tarry edge. Again, lots of vanilla from the oak maturation apparent in this young wine. The palate is quite tight and inexpressive at first, but with time reveals plenty of tarry, chewy, blackberry, strawberry and blueberry fruit. Full bodied, with plenty of spicy American oak. Good acidity, quite chalky tannins, which give a puckering note to the finish. Good.

Baron de Ley Rioja Gran Reserva 1994: A lovely density of colour, with a deep red-black hue. On the nose, smoky, crushed summer fruits lie alongside early nuances of cigar smoke and vanilla oak. On the palate, the oak seems quite prominent at this early stage. Tannins are soft and integrating nicely, supporting a bed of chewy, slightly tarry, plump and ripe black summer fruits. More hints of cigars. A full bodied wine, with low acidity, leading into a soft finish. This wine seems somewhat flabby and overdone at present, but this may well settle with time. Good.

I tasted the following wine in July 2000.

Baron de Ley Rioja Reserva 1994: Intense, inky black colour. Nose very closed at first, but with aeration it really opens up to reveal lovely smoky, cigar box aromas, with good fruit and some oak. The palate has the classic smooth, velvety Rioja texture, with nicely integrated oak. Like the nose, this really develops in the glass, producing intense smoky, liquorice, cigar-like flavours. Woody tannins and nicely balancing acidity. Finishes well. Good.

Baron de Ley

Baron de Ley - Tasting Notes

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