An Argentine winemaker walks into Rioja. It sounds like a setup, but Manu Michelini -- of the Mendoza winemaking clan -- teamed up with Rioja native Carlos Fernandez in Labastida to farm old vines organically and biodynamically at around 600 meters, aging the wines in 12th-century caves where the temperature and humidity simply don't move. Virna comes from the more vigorous sites: Tempranillo and Garnacha with a scattering of Mazuelo, Viura, Garnacha Blanca and other odds and ends from 1960s field-blend plantings. Fermented in open-top concrete with native yeasts, raised in barrel and then back to concrete. This is Rioja with energy and grip instead of oak and vanilla, and it tastes like two traditions arguing productively.