Olivier Riviere Rioja Mirando al Sur
Get Rewards
Become a Member and Earn points & Exclusive Rewards every time you shop.
Olivier was born and raised south of Bordeaux, in Cognac. He studied enology in Montagne St-Emilion, focusing on biodynamic farming and cut his teeth working for such luminaries as Domaine de Chassorney, Elian da Ros and Domaine Leroy. In 2004 he was lured into Spain by Telmo Rodriguez to help him convert his vineyards to biodynamics. By 2006 he had started his first project in Rioja. Coming from France, Olivier has an innate sense of terroir. Unlike many of his peers in Rioja, he bases his cuvees not on political boundaries or the length of barrel aging but on terroir. He believes in a quality hierarchy inspired by Burgundy with generic Appellation and Village wines at the base and Premier and Grand cru wines at the top. This is how to best understand what Olivier is doing in Rioja, rather than the traditional Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva model. As Olivier has steadily and carefully grown his production, he’s been hampered by the high prices for land and grapes in Rioja. As a result, he ventured into Arlanza; a relatively new DO located between Rioja and Ribera del Duero. In Arlanza, he found high-elevation vineyards of Tempranillo (some quite ancient) intermixed with a scattering of Garnacha and Albillo. This mountain fruit is potentially sterner stuff than what Olivier had grown accustomed to in Rioja, but it is remarkably vibrant and complex in his hands.