An Artist in His Bodega: El Señor de Lesmos

Ángel Escudero and his beloved, well used oak barrels

In Rioja, Spain’s most successfully branded wine region, where large, 100+ year old bodegas co-exist with more recent, even larger volume wineries, Laguardia’s Bodegas Casa Juan stands out as much for its DIY spirit as for the honesty, value and deliciousness of its wines. In an area where tradition and scale seem to matter most, Bodegas Casa Juan’s Ángel Escudero, alongside his wife Araceli and siblings (Carmen, Santiago, Julian and Ángel - together they form the anagram of CASA JUAN) has steadfastly carved his own path. He has created his own niche, with his own vineyards, his own quirks and sensibility and his own sense of style. The wines have a familiar build and flavor to those who favor old school Rioja, yet there is a decidedly original stylistic imprint as well. On release the fruit is rich and surprisingly bright, but with years of bottle age (yes, even for the Crianza) the wines develop spicy, savory, voluminous layers. They contain multitudes.

Ángel and his family own a number of small parcels of Tempranillo vineyards, all trained “en vaso,” averaging around 45 years old, lying on the typical calcareous clay soils and situated primarily in and around Laguardia, though also in San Vicente, Cenicero, and El Cortijo. Farming is sustainable  and for all intents and purposes, organic (not certified). There is also a 30 year old Mazuelo vineyard, located in the Rioja Oriente mountain village of Gravalos, on sandy, calcareous soil.

Grapes are harvested by hand and ferment with indigenous yeasts (natural malo as well) in 24,000 liter concrete vessels. Daily “remontajes” are used - at first more prolonged and gradually decreased as fermentation finishes up. Once both fermentations finish, the wines are racked into a combination of French oak (coopered by Vernou) and light and medium toast Pennsylvania oak barrels (coopered by the local, well regarded Payueta tonelería), which will see about seven years of use at the winery.  The crianza spends 14 months in barrel and then is blended and allowed time to harmonize in old concrete vats prior to bottling. 

Quick aside: Casa Juan’s names are bottled under the name Señor de Lesmos. This Señor is in fact, Angel, and “Lesmos” is a purely invented curse word that his grandfather was known to employ. When young Ángel was being naughty, his grandfather would exclaim “Que eres el Señor de Lesmos!” The name stuck.

Casa Juan’s wines, like their winemaker, may be initially reticent, but they open fantastically with air. We love Rioja, and believe that Casa Juan makes some of the most compelling and ageworthy wines in the region.