Spain is likely one of the world’s fastest-growing nice wine nations, but Spanish wine is extra unfamiliar to many than Bordeaux or Burgundy. Right here, Grasp of Wine and Spain Purchaser, Catriona Felstead MW, guides us via this hub of remarkable winemaking, and breaks down what that you must find out about key Spanish wine areas
I’m usually requested what my favorite wine is. It’s a query that I battle to reply, given the variety of actually unbelievable wines there are on the planet (it’s like being requested to decide on your favorite little one), however I all the time come again to the identical response: “I can’t offer you my favorite wine, however I can say that it could most likely be a wine from Spain.”
So, why Spain? Nicely, I admit, it’s partly private. Spain holds a really particular place in my coronary heart; I had my first ever ‘wine second’ there. One night again in 1997, I went right into a bar in Granada and requested for a easy glass of “vino tinto”. I used to be travelling in Spain after a 12 months overseas in France as a part of my college research. Up till that second, I had loved ingesting wine (I had simply spent a 12 months in France in any case) however I definitely hadn’t ever actually appreciated it. After I tried that wine, I had a transformative expertise; it was not like something I had ever tasted earlier than. The flavours and complexity in that tumbler utterly blew my thoughts.
Annoyingly, I don’t bear in mind the classic, however I do recall that it was a glass of Viña Cubillo from Bodegas R. López de Heredia, probably the most fantastic, unashamedly conventional, kinds of Rioja. That was the second that I made a decision I needed to study extra, the second that set me on a path to a profession in wine, and in the end to attaining my Grasp of Wine qualification in 2012.
However this explicit Rioja “wine second” of mine is simply the tip of the iceberg. There are such a lot of areas to discover in Spain, which additionally has so a lot of its personal grape varieties, and so many various kinds.
Spain’s wine areas: Rioja
Central to most individuals’s expertise of Spanish wine is Rioja.
Rioja is definitely a ‘Denominación de Origen Clasificada’, the very highest high quality stage achievable underneath Spanish wine legislation. Together with Priorat, Rioja is just one of two Spanish areas which have ever been awarded this standing. This doesn’t imply that each one Rioja DOCa wines are uniformly nice, however it does imply that the minimal high quality requirements that should be adhered to right here, in each the vineyards and wineries, are extra exacting.
Rioja is an unbelievably stunning area. Tempranillo thrives right here, together with its frequent mixing companions Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha (Grenache). Pink wines are medium-bodied and chic, in each fashionable, fruit-forward and historically advanced kinds.
Viura is the mainstay grape of the whites, able to producing each youthful, contemporary kinds in addition to a few of the most astonishing, mature, nutty, advanced wines you may ever want to style.
There are three principal sub-regions: Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental. Rioja Alavesa is closest to the mountains (it really lies contained in the Basque Nation) and infrequently produces wines with only a contact extra crimson fruit and freshness.
Rioja Alta is the normal coronary heart of the area, containing town of Logroño. Lots of Rioja’s most well-known and long-standing producers are primarily based in Haro, virtually on prime of each other within the Barrio de la Estación district.
Because the title suggests, this district is correct by the railway station, the railway itself having been of big historic significance to the success of Rioja. A collection of dreadful harvest began in Bordeaux in 1863, adopted by the devastating impression of phylloxera 4 years later. Throughout this time, the Bordelais got here to Rioja, looking for good volumes of wine to purchase to move north to spice up their manufacturing. This was the beginning of the nice Rioja bodegas as we all know them now.
Final, however certainly not least, is Rioja Oriental. Because of the large efforts of the inspirational Álvaro Palacios, that is not referred to as “Rioja Baja”, which made it sound like a lowly neighbour. That is the true dwelling of Garnacha. The area is dominated by volume-driven co-operatives, however additionally it is able to producing some extremely pure and ethereal kinds of crimson wine.
Spain’s wine areas: Ribera del Duero
Solely an hour’s drive south of Haro, and you might be in Ribera del Duero, famed for its intense and fruit-forward crimson wines. These are sometimes made solely from the Tempranillo grape, which right here is named Tinto Fino, however some very well-known producers, comparable to Vega Sicilia, famously add Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to their blends.
One of many principal variations between Ribera del Duero and Rioja is the altitude. Ribera lies on the northern plateau of the Iberian Peninsula and its vineyards lie between 750m and 900m altitude, greater than the 300m to 500m common in Rioja.
Ribera additionally has extra of an excessive continental local weather than Rioja (which is extra average as it’s nearer to the ocean). Because of this it has hotter days and cooler nights, producing crimson grapes with thicker skins, and subsequently making wines of extra density and deeper color.
Spain’s wine areas: Rueda and Toro
Simply additional to the west of Ribera del Duero are the smaller areas of Rueda and Toro. Rueda is dominated by the white grape, Verdejo, which makes grassy but textured kinds of white wine, slightly alongside the traces of Sauvignon Blanc.
Toro has comparable situations to Ribera, nonetheless excessive up on the plateau with the vast majority of vineyards at a excessive altitude. Nevertheless, it’s nearer to Portugal and customarily even hotter right here. Tempranillo continues to be king – however right here it’s referred to as Tinto de Toro.
The soil can also be filled with exceptional pudding stone pebbles, just like the galets present in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The reflection of the warmth from these makes the rising situations even hotter, resulting in much more highly effective crimson wines, usually with rather less sophistication than Ribera del Duero.
Spain’s wine areas: Galicia
Shifting north from right here, we finally attain Spain’s stunning north-west. Galicia is a inexperienced, verdant area, because of its usually cooler, moist climate and proximity to the ocean. It has many sub-regions: Rias Baixas is one of the best identified for its contemporary, salty white wines made out of the native grape, Albariño. Shifting into Ribeiro and Ribeira Sacra and past, that is then usually blended with different native companions, Treixadura and Loureiro, and plenty of different historic, native varieties. Godello has risen as one other star grape of the area, particularly because of Rafael Palacios (Álvaro’s youthful brother) and his unbelievable work right here turning this into wines that may rival a few of the fines Burgundies in complexity.
Crisp, crunchy reds are additionally produced, usually as blends of many native grapes, however with the star often being Mencia. What Rafa has carried out for Galician whites, Telmo Rodiguez has achieved for Galician reds, each primarily based very close to one another within the jap subregion of Valdeorras.
Spain’s wine areas: Bierzo
Simply over the mountains is Bierzo, which has gained fame for its crimson, Mencia-dominant wines. The mountainous border retains Bierzo a lot dryer than Galicia, lending extra of a richness to the wines.
Descendientes de J. Palacios, a joint undertaking with Álvaro and his nephew Ricardo Pérez Palacios is one to observe right here, as they produce tiny volumes of sensational crimson wines excessive up within the mountains. Their most prized winery, La Faraona, produces electrical wines, filled with indescribable vitality, finesse and energy.
Spain’s wine areas: Priorat
Flying again over Rioja to the jap coast of Spain, we get to Catalonia and the historic areas of Priorat and Penedès.
Priorat, in the event you recall, is the opposite DOCa area of Spain, making luscious but refined wines from Garnacha and Cariñena (additionally right here referred to as Samsó), usually from very previous vines. The soil is predominantly a volcanic black slate referred to as llicorella which absorbs warmth while additionally reflecting daylight.
Worldwide varieties comparable to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah are additionally authorised right here, and a a lot smaller quantity of white wines can also be made. That is the place Álvaro Palacios made his title, crafting astonishing, exceptional wines from across the village of Gratallops.
Sangenís i Vaqué is one other nice producer right here, producing extra conventional wines of nice character. It is vitally small and run by a historic Priorat household which might hint its wine-producing descendants proper again to the 1700s.
Spain’s wine areas: Penedès
Shifting now into the center of Spanish glowing wine manufacturing, we arrive in Penedès. Traditionally that is the house of mass-produced, traditional-method Cava made out of indigenous grapes Macabeo (Viura), Parellada and Xarel-lo, in addition to Chardonnay and Malvasia, though Cava can be produced in different Spanish areas.
Penedès is now led by various premium producers who’ve moved away from the pretty innocuous Cava DO designation to make as an alternative high-quality “Spanish glowing wine”. Main the best way was Pepe Raventós, who eliminated his household property, Raventós i Blanc, from the Cava DO again in 2012 to give attention to creating terroir-driven glowing wines from the marine-fossil soils of Conca del Riu Anoia.
Eleven different well-known premium producers within the area, together with the honored Gramona, additionally pulled away from the Cava DO to create a separate group, “Corpinnat”, in 2017. That means “coronary heart of Penedès”, this group commits to producing 100% natural wines with very strict high quality guidelines.
Spain’s wine areas: Jerez
There are such a lot of different small areas in Spain to find, along with these already talked about right here, however one ultimate area that we can not ignore is Jerez. Proper down within the south of Spain, Jerez is ready aside each geographically and stylistically from the remainder of this fascinating nation. The rationale for that’s that it’s dwelling to Spain’s iconic fortified wine, Sherry.
While it’s usually frequent to consider Sherry as being candy (and far of the majority manufacturing is), probably the most lauded kinds are usually the dry wines. A few of these are made underneath the affect of the flor yeast that thrives right here. Nutty, almond-salted Manzanillas and Finos, hazelnut-led Amontillados and walnut-focused Olorosos are just a few delights to be found from unbelievable, high quality acutely aware producers comparable to Bodegas Lustau.
For those who get pleasure from a dry Manzanilla with juicy inexperienced olives, almonds and jamón ibérico (myself included), it’s exhausting to beat because the most interesting meals and wine match on the planet.
Spain is such an enchanting and various nation, there actually is one thing for everybody right here; crisp, mineral glowing wines from Penedès, dry, saline white wines from Galicia, elegant, clean Riojas, highly effective Priorat and Ribera del Duero wines and deliciously nutty Sherries, amongst many others. A few of these are amongst the very most interesting wines on the planet, and simply get into your coronary heart and soul while you drink them. For this reason I preserve coming again repeatedly to Spain once I purchase wine to drink at dwelling – ¡salud!
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