Rodolfo Bastida
Spain
Head winemaker at one of Spain's biggest wine companies - and reserves the best stuff for his Angels
Meet Rodolfo! He’s an unmatched winemaker from Spain’s most famous grape growing region – Rioja! And he’s here to bring Angels a taste of this classic corner of the wine world!
Rodolfo’s been perfecting Rioja wines for one of Spain’s most iconic wineries for more than 20 years, but he joined nakedwines.com eager to work on a few special projects of his own with your support. Now those wines are yours to enjoy!
He’s picked up tons of awards and wowed plenty of critics along the way, but more importantly, his wines are already the highest-rated Riojas with Angels around the world. Rodolfo’s dream wines are so special they can only come in small amounts though, so be sure not to miss your share.
Vineyard Location
Rodolfo Bastida's Story
Rodolfo Bastida's Story
Good news! Angels are about to get a whole lot more Rioja on their wine racks – all thanks to the one and only Rodolfo!
Angel funding helps winemakers all over the world make their dream wines, now Angels in the U.S. are about to get a few from one of the best winemakers in all of Spain.
When it comes to wines from Rioja, one of Spain’s most world-famous wine locales, Rodolfo is just the winemaker to show Angels the best of what the region can do. He’s been making the wines at an almost 100-year-old winery there for over two decades – safe to say he knows Rioja better than anyone.
But even though Rioja grape growing runs in his family, Rodolfo didn’t plan on one day being one of Spain’s top winemakers...
After locking down a degree in Agricultural Engineering, Rodolfo struck out for some real-life work experience in Ag. He could have landed anywhere, but he just so happened to find himself at a small winery where he had to do everything from counting barrel staves to selling the wine… from then on, he was hooked.
His first winemaking rodeo was at an experimental winery in the Cariñena region of Spain, where the first Carignan grapes were grown. He kept at it, and by the time he was only 31, Rodolfo was leading one of Spain’s biggest wineries into a new chapter with new owners – and he’s been running the show there ever since.
With each turn of his career, he’s left behind a trail of awards, from the International Wine Competition to 90+ point scores from Robert Parker to praises in Decanter magazine.
What’s more, since he started working with nakedwines.com in the UK, his wines have been the highest-rated Riojas for Angels over there.
While he specializes in classic-style Riojas with tons of smooth texture, flourishes of fruit and lots of oak aging, he’s also no stranger to mixing things up. Fun fact: one time he made a fancy Rioja red, then helped make a violin out of the barrel.
Lately, he’s been making wines with grapes grown high up on mountain slopes in Rioja – these grapes undergo more photosynthesis at the higher altitudes, Rodolfo says, which brings out stronger aromatics and gives them more intense color.
Rodolfo’s winemaking philosophy is to let the grapes speak for themselves, so he tries to handle the wines and vines as little as possible. “No filtering, unless necessary,” he says.
He’s also a big-time believer in feedback. “The more comments the better,” Rodolfo says. “Every opinion is valuable.” Naturally, he can’t wait to hear what Angels in the US think of the wines from his revered corner of Spain.
In fact, he’s got three Rioja reds coming to US Angels later this year, with even more on the way!
Welcome, Rodolfo!
Rodolfo's Archangels
Take a fish boating with some wine
