Why it matters
The producer
The building Carlos Fernández and his brothers chose in Labastida's old Jewish quarter was not chosen for its facade. Underneath it, four caves cut from the rock in the 1400s were already holding wine when the family arrived. Those caves now hold 500 oak casks and require no temperature control, no humidity management, no mechanical intervention of any kind. The conditions that medieval Labastida required for wine storage are the same conditions the Fernández family relies on today.
Bodegas Tierra sits in Labastida, a village in Rioja Alavesa, the sub-zone of Rioja governed by the Basque Country province of Álava. The winery produces around 200,000 bottles a year across a range that runs from a carbonic maceration entry red through to old-vine Garnacha Blanca whites. The name means land. Every decision in vineyard and cellar traces back to that word.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Labastida is in Rioja Alavesa, north of the Ebro River, where Atlantic weather reaches further inland than it does in Rioja Alta or Rioja Oriental. The elevation is higher and the growing season is cooler. Those conditions push harvest later, keep acidity brighter, and produce wines that tend to be lighter in body and more aromatic than those from the warmer, drier sub-zones to the south and east.
For Tempranillo, Rioja Alavesa's cooler profile means less extraction pressure in the cellar. The grape arrives with freshness already intact, so winemakers choosing carbonic maceration are working with the sub-zone's natural direction rather than against it. For white wines, particularly Garnacha Blanca, the Atlantic influence slows ripening and preserves the grape's natural acidity, which is the difference between a white that reads as heavy and one that finishes cleanly.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Fernández Gómez, the entry red, is made by carbonic maceration, the traditional technique in Rioja Alavesa. Whole uncrushed bunches ferment inside the berry before any pressing takes place. The process is low in tannin extraction and high in fresh red-fruit character. Banana, kirsch, violet: the aromatics are forward and the body is light. It is a wine for early drinking.
El Primavera is single-varietal Tempranillo aged in barrel for four months. That short oak contact lifts the wine above the freshness of carbonic maceration without building the firmer tannin frame of a full Crianza.
Wines to know
The range in view
The Fernández Gómez is carbonic maceration Tempranillo: low tannin, bright cherry and strawberry fruit, short finish, best within a year or two of harvest. It is the most approachable bottle in the range and the most traditional expression of Rioja Alavesa's entry-level style.
El Primavera steps up in weight. Four months of barrel ageing gives the single-varietal Tempranillo a touch of vanilla and a rounder mid-palate without the grip that longer oak time would add. It sits between fresh and barrel-aged.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Cifras Garnacha Blanca is the right first bottle. It is unusual for Rioja, where white wine almost always means Viura or a Viura-Malvasía blend. Garnacha Blanca here comes from two Labastida parcels: one planted in 1944, one planted in 2004. The older vines produce concentrated, waxy fruit with real body; the younger parcel keeps the wine from feeling heavy. This white wine has weight, length, and an acid line that holds it upright. It is not a simple introduction to Rioja whites. It is an argument that Rioja Alavesa can produce white wines worth seeking.