2004 Bodegas Escudero Vidau Rioja 750 ml

White and wet.

Between the winter snows and rain, that’s how Rioja’s 2004 vintage started out. But the vines cruised through spring and well into summer, taking a drink from a few harmless thunderstorms. Mother Nature cranked the ripening knob with some early September heat, then led the grapes on a slow and steady march to harvest. 

By the time picking started a week into November, Rioja’s traditional winemakers were looking at each other in disbelief, like the season was a dream. Decanter rated the vintage 5 out of 5. Wine Spectator rated it “outstanding,” and it still rates as one of their top four of this century.

Twenty years after that harvest, the 2004 Bodegas Vinsacro Vidau—grown on 80-year-old vines, crafted by the eminent Bodegas Escudero—is now perfectly aged and ready to drink. 

Bodegas Escudero dates back more than a century, to when Juan Escudero first started making wine in a small mountainside cave. The winery gained momentum when Juan’s grandson Benito dove into the family business. He studied at the Requena School of Oenology and later at the Villafranca del Penedés School of Oenology. He even traveled to Bordeaux and Champagne to deepen his knowledge. 

The spirit of Benito is alive in the current Bodegas Escudero wines, which are sourced from the family’s holdings in La Rioja and Navarra—vineyards whose vines average 70 years of age. Vinsacro’s Vidau hails from the Cuesta la Reina estate, located on a sun-drenched hillside. Hand-harvested and selected in the vineyard, it was fermented in stainless steel tanks on indigenous yeasts before spending at least 18 months in aged American oak. What a treasure from a fantastic vintage!