We first met Bryan MacRobert in Albert Ahrens' cellar at Wildepaardejacht near Paarl, where he was making his exquisite Swartland wines. For the bulk of the year though Bryan is based in Logroño, quietly and passionately rallying for a return to a fresher, elegant - and to him as well as a growing band of others, more authentic - style of Rioja wine.
He's no stranger to Spain, having worked vintages for Eben Sadie in Priorat as well as being his assistant winemaker back home. The first Laventura vintage was as recently as 2013 but already the wines are causing a stir. Small parcels of old vines, inaccessible to most farm machinery and ploughed by mule. These are some of the most exciting wines to come out of this ultra-traditional region in many a year.