Varietal Information

• History has given Spain dozens (vintners claim hundreds) of native vines, and these predominate, but other European varieties are increasingly popular in new plantings, particularly for sparkling wines. The native Tempranillo (also called Cencibel, Ull de Llebre, Tinto Pais and Tinto Fino) is the most distinguished and long-lived, and can produce deeply colored, complex, aromatic dinner wines as well as lighter everyday reds. Fine tempranillos have characteristic aromas of chocolate, coffee, smoke, overripe plums and sometimes brown sugar or tar.

  Other red varietals are Garnacha (a variant of France's grenache), used for many different styles of wine including young fruity roses; Graciano; Mazuela (Carignan); Bobal; Monastrell (Mourv'dre) and small plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Pinot Noir.

  Spanish white wines, particularly in La Mancha and Valdepe'as, have long relied on the drought-resistant Air'n (almost 1/3 of vineyards). Also distilled for Spanish brandy, Air'n is the most planted grape varietal in the world. Macabeo (Viura), another native white variety, is also widely planted and most successfully vinified with cold fermentation. In Galicia's R'as Baixas, the white Albari'o produces fragrant, zesty, moderately complex wines often compared to (but not at all similar to) Portugal's Vinhos Verdes. In Rueda, the Verdejo variety makes refreshing floral white wines. Cava, the sparkling wines of Catalonia, include Macabeo (Viura), Parellada, Xarel-lo, and some Chardonnay. For Jerez (Sherry) as in the related wines of Montilla-Moriles and M'laga, the principal grapes are the white Palomino, which makes neutral, low-acid wines, supplemented by the red Pedro Xim'nez and white Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria) which add color, sweetness and some complexity.

  Vinification - Table Wines

  Spanish vinification practices are in transition. Law and tradition have dictated that wines not be released until ready to drink, which often meant the necessity for excessive long term storage. Unfortunately, wine produced and aged in primitive conditions in a hot climate could mean high alcohol levels, low acid and maderized flavor. Old-fashioned clay or concrete tinajas were formerly used for fermentation and storage but only compounded the problem; being difficult to clean, they often distorted flavors even if wines were later aged in barrel. Some of these flavors gradually became acceptable to local taste, and in the case of sherry were actually refined into a product that used the natural flor yeasts successfully.

  Many table wines, however, have been less attractive for export until recently. All but the lowliest reds and whites were aged for years in American oak barrels, and while the resulting wines often matched well with food, they could be dusty and tired with too much vanilla flavor. Wines in this style are still available, but the introduction of temperature stabilization and stainless steel tanks (beginning in the 1960s) has caused striking changes in the wine industry, with the result of cleaner wines with more universal appeal to modern tastes. Cask and barrel aging are still important, but more aging time is now spent in bottle, resulting in fruitier, livelier wines. Among the trendiest winemakers, some small French oak is also starting to augment the stock of American barrels.

  Vinifications - Sherry

  Due to special vinification and aging processes, the renowned wines of Jerez (known as sherry in English and X'r's in French) have a unique character that sets them apart from all others. When Spanish table wines were in the dark ages, sherry was already exported worldwide, celebrated by statesmen and poets, and cherished by wine cognoscenti. Unfortunately, though sherry is still Spain's international signature wine, it is sadly out of fashion today, and production has been declining since the mid-1980's.

  Sherries are hot climate fortified wines from grapes grown in the famous white albariza soil of Andaluc'a, predominantly from the white Palomino grape which makes up about 95 percent of vineyard plantings, and supplemented by red Pedro Xim'nez and Muscat of Alexandria for sweetness and floral complexity. Styles range from bone dry to rich and sweet, making them appropriate for both aperitifs and dessert wines. The Spanish appreciate dry sherry, while international tastes particularly in England and the Netherlands have emphasized the sweeter styles. Their enthusiasm has contributed to the great variety and encouraged other countries around the world to produce maderized, fortified "sherry style" wines mimicking the Spanish style, with results that are usually economical but without the soul of the original.

  Sherries are divided into two main types, fino (called manzanilla in Sanl'car) and oloroso. The fino types are the driest, with the greatest delicacy of flavor; they are usually cold fermented of free-run juice where possible, whereas olorosos may be barrel fermented at slightly higher temperatures. For both types of sherry, the base wine is fortified with aguardiente (neutral grape brandy) after fermentation - up to 15.5 percent alcohol for finos and up to 22 percent for olorosos.

  The naturally occurring yeast flor is the main agent giving personality to fino-type sherries. The desirable flor changes and adds complexity to flavors as it feeds on oxygen and nutrients in the wine. It floats on top of the wine, which is aged in partially filled barrels, and thus also protects it from oxidation. Olorosos, with their higher alcohol content, do not grow flor and hence get their darker character from aging in the presence of oxygen.

  To allow the flor to impart its distinctive character to the wine, winemakers in Jerez, Sanl'car de Barrameda and Puerto de Santa Maria (the three important cities in the sherry industry) rotate new sherries through a solera system for aging. (Technically the solera indicates the oldest wine within the system, but the word is also used to indicate the system itself.) The solera system constantly blends younger wines into those which already have some flor character, removing finished wines only after a number of years in the cycle.

  Inside the system, barrels of wines of the same vintage are grouped into criaderas (nurseries) and used to progressively replenish the older wines. Depending upon the size of the bodega or sherry house there may be hundreds or even thousands of criaderas contributing to the signature products. By replenishing older barrels with progressively younger wines and removing no more than 33 percent of the total wine in any given year, winemakers produce sherries that remain consistent in style and flavor.

  Once the flor in a fino-type sherry is exhausted (flor can live up to ten years), fino is bottled and shipped. Since it has a moderately high alcohol content and delicate flavor, it should be treated as carefully as table wine and served chilled. If not bottled, increased oxygen contact will cause it to darken in color and taste to become an amontillado. Though the classic amontillado is dry, sweet amontillados fortified with sweetened grape juice are also produced. The categories of finos are:

  • Fino (Jerez) or Manzanilla (from Sanl'car)
  • Fino Amontillado (also called Manzanilla Pasada)
  • (true) Amontillado. Some finos are also blended with sweet wines
  • (Pedro Xim'nez or Moscatel) to become Pale Dry Sherries.

  Olorosos, with a higher alcohol content, age differently from finos. They become more concentrated and brown, with strong, rich flavors and a nutty maderized aroma. Though the basic olorosos are dry, they are usually blended and sweetened to various degrees with Muscat or Pedro Xim'nez wines (produced from dried grapes) or arrope (boiled grape juice concentrate) and are designated Oloroso, Cream Sherry or commercial Amontillado. The relatively rare Palo Cortado is a wine that develops a flor like fino but loses it relatively soon and finishes aging like an Oloroso, giving it characteristics of both types.

  Regulation - Table Wines

  Spain has refined its regulations since joining the European Union in 1986. Labels describe wines by region, though some also give varietal information. (If only one grape is named, EU requires it to be 85% of the wine.) The federal INDO system (Instituto Nacional de Denominaciones de Origen) appoints a Consejo Regulador for each appellation (DO), and the local body establishes and enforces regulations regarding varietals, cultivation, vinification and aging procedures. The Consejo Regulador also registers vineyards and bodegas, monitors stocks from vineyard to bottle, and tests before approving for export.

  • The most basic wine category is vino de mesa or VdM. This is ordinary table wine made from unclassified vineyards or various blends. It can be red, white or rose and is often sold young (joven). Often it is not bottled but sold in bulk to bars and restaurants.
  • Vino Comarcal (VC) is reserved for wine made outside a recognized DO area and adds an area name to the Vino de Mesa labeling.
  • Vino de la Tierra (VdlT) labeling designates a wine from one of the larger wine areas and connotes slightly higher requirements, status and quality.
  • Denominacion de Origen (DO), is similar to the French appellation controloe, indicating a local wine region of some distinction governed by a Consejo Regulador. The DOC system currently recognizes 52 such regions around the country.
  • The most elevated category for superior wines, thus far awarded only to Rioja in 1991, is Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOCA). Qualification for this status is largely determined by the market and requires that a wine sell for 200 percent above the national average price.
  • The three additional designations crianza, reserva and gran reserva indicate reserve wines subject to longer than usual aging in wood cask and bottle. Regulations differ among the DO areas depending upon local tradition and varieties. In Rioja, for example, red crianza wines must be aged in oak for one year and bottle one year. The more distinguished Reservas require two years in oak and one in bottle, and the finest Gran Reservas receive at least two years in oak and three or more in the bottle before release. White wines are similarly aged in both cask and bottle but are released somewhat younger.

  Regulation - Sherry

  With a long history of world commerce akin to that in Portugal, the major concerns of sherry regulations are aging and shipping. The Jerez Consejo Regulador recognizes the following categories of wine merchants: Bodegas de Produccion make basic wines, while Bodegas de Elaboracion may vinify and hold wine for limited periods. Bodegas de Crianza y Almacenado (Almacenistas) with a minimum capacity of 265,000 gallons (1,000 hl) including 60 percent from Jerez Superior, are allowed to age and mature wines; and only the largest, Bodegas de Crianza y Expedicion, with a minimum capacity of over 3.3 million gallons (12,500 hl) including at least 60 percent from Jerez Superior, are allowed to mature and ship wine. These include the large merchant shippers such as Sandeman, Croft and Harvey which maintain enormous and complex soleras to assure the continuing quality and identity of their name brand sherries.

  Regions

  • COSTERS DEL SEGRE
  • JEREZ
  • LA MANCHA
  • M'LAGA
  • MONTILLA-MORILES
  • NAVARRA
  • PENEDOS
  • PRIORAT
  • R'AS BAIXAS
  • RIBERA DEL DUERO
  • RIOJA
  • RUEDA
  • SOMONTANO
  • VALDEPE'AS

  COSTERS DEL SEGRE:
  This very small area just east of Somontano is closer to the Mediterranean but receives none of its ameliorating influences. The quality producer Raimat has invested heavily in land reclamation and restoration and almost single-handedly created its modern persona. The weather is very severe, both cold and hot, in this semi-desert near the Catalan city of Lorida. With only 15 inches of rainfall annually, it has been granted an "experimental" status that allows Costers del Segre to practice limited irrigation and achieve acceptable yields. French varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay have been planted as well as the native Tempranillo, Parellada (white) and Macabeo or Viura (white). The most celebrated wines are red: the Cabernet Sauvignon is earthy and highly extracted, with fine texture and black cherry fruit flavors as well as herbal, tobacco aromas; while the Tempranillo is well-rounded and lush with plum, smoke and chocolate flavors, but not as heavy as in other areas.

  JEREZ:
  Adjacent to the Strait of Gibraltar in Spain's far south, the three centers of Jerez (sherry) production are located within a ten mile triangle along the western coast: Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlocar de Barrameda, and Puerto de Santa Maria. Atlantic breezes offer a moderating influence to the warm Mediterranean climate, lending the wines various almond, salty and olive aromas depending on their microclimates. The prized albariza soil which seems crucial for the Palomino grape is mostly found around the city of Jerez de la Frontera, and the majority of vineyards designated Jerez Superior are near this city, with other parcels occurring in Sanlocar de Barrameda, Puerto de Santa Maria, Chipiona and Rota. The current total vineyard area, much reduced from the past, is under 32,000 acres, predominantly planted with white Palomino and small amounts of Pedro Ximonez and Moscatel.

  LA MANCHA:
  On the arid plains south of Madrid, La Mancha's 419,000 acres make up Europe's single largest denomination of origin, but with average annual rainfall of only 16 inches (400 mm) and typical summer temperatures rising to 104 degrees F (40 degrees C), yields are naturally small. La Mancha was long out of favor with connoisseurs for old-fashioned techniques that allowed wines to become oxidized before their time, but temperature control and stainless steel fermentation and earlier harvests have improved the wines. Much La Mancha wine is sold in bulk or distilled for Spanish brandy. The traditional red varietal is Tempranillo (here called Cencibel), but new plantings also include Cabernet Sauvignon. La Mancha whites are simple everyday wines, quite inexpensive, made with Air'n, a native vine with extremely high drought resistance. Some Chardonnay is also being planted.

  M'LAGA:
  M'laga lies less than 150 miles to the east of Jerez on the southern coast. As Andaluc'a's (and Spain's) smallest DO, it has a long and illustrious wine history that is now threatened by modern development. Disastrously hit by powdery mildew and phylloxera in the second half of the nineteenth century, many areas were never replanted, and today an influx of tourism competes with vineyards for the hillsides overlooking the Mediterranean. The wines were traditionally made from partially dried grapes, giving them a legendary sweetness, but today may also be sweetened with arrope (concentrated grape must) or arrested with brandy during fermentation to maintain residual sugar. The main varietal is Pedro Xim'nez, with some Air'n and Muscat of Alexandria. The intense wines are aged in the city of M'laga in oak barrel soleras with resulting alcohol levels ranging from 15-23 percent. Though produced in a range from dry to sweet, the most exported M'laga is unctuously sweet with a raisiny, almost burnt character -- a wine that is, without any other accompaniment, a dessert.

  MONTILLA-MORILES:
  The hot, dry Montilla-Moriles area to the northeast of Jerez shows the temperature extremes of inland Andaluc'a. Its vinification methods and history parallel other sherry style wines, but its products are usually considered lesser versions. In contrast to Jerez, the main grape here, with over 70 percent of production, is Pedro Xim'nez. Other varieties are Air'n and Muscat of Alexandria. Fino, amontillado, and oloroso styles are produced in Montilla, but EU regulations do not allow them to be exported as such; they are more generically labeled Pale Dry, Medium Dry, or Cream. Many of the strong, dark Montilla olorosos and heavy alcoholic Pedro Xim'nez wines are shipped and blended into true sherries or M'lagas.

  NAVARRA:
  The Navarra region borders Rioja to the northeast and southwest. It has traditionally been known for dry ros's, but is now exporting a number of slightly lighter Rioja-style wines at more moderate prices. Red varietals include Tempranillo, Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Whites are the traditional Viura newly supplemented by Chardonnay.

  PENED'S:
  The vital, active Pened's wine region is located in the province of Catalonia along the northeastern Mediterranean coast. Marine influence allows production of many different styles of wine in three separate elevations (Bajo, Medio and Superior, between 825 ft (250 m) and 2600 ft (500-800 m)). Beginning in the 1960s, the active Torres enterprise helped to revive the area, starting with experimental vineyard plantings of native, French and German varieties. They also introduced modern vinification methods and temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel, with the result of clean, dependable wines in a reasonable range of prices. Many Pened's red wines are well made and well priced. Common red varietals are Garnacha, Carineia and Monastrell, with some Tempranillo (here known as Ull de Llebre) and Cabernet Sauvignon.

  Modern methods were also critical in sparking the region's cava (sparkling wine) industry centered around the Penedes town of San Sadurni de Noya. After old red vineyards were lost to phylloxera around the turn of the century, replanting featured white varieties that came to be most used for sparkling wines: Macabeo (Viura), Xarel-lo, Parellada, and increasingly, Chardonnay. Cavas are produced in huge quantities with automated production that allows the traditional methode champenoise, but these sparkling wines, described as earthy, mushroomy, or rubbery in taste, have distinctly different flavors from Champagne and may be an acquired taste. The best cavas contain more chardonnay and can have notes of pear, peach and mandarin orange. For still white wines, Parellada is favored, supplemented by Riesling, Muscat of Alexandria and Chardonnay.

  Nearby regions have seen big changes within the last ten years and are still in the process of establishing themselves, particularly Priorat (also called Priorato) and Costers del Segre in Catalonia, and Somontano in Aragin. These areas are producing some of the most exciting wines in Spain for some time.

  PRIORAT:
  Priorat has an especially long history of wine making since at least the 12th century. Its poor, stony soil underlaid by slate and quartz planted with very old vines gives its established vineyards incredibly low yields of only 0.3 tons/acre. Perhaps because of the unbelievable concentration of their fruit, Priorat vineyards produce world class wines from the usually ordinary Grenacha and Carignan grapes. Surprisingly, these varietals -- elsewhere popular for rosis and light character reds -- engender big sturdy red wines with smooth, plentiful tannins, perfect for long bottle aging. The most recent trend amends local tradition by adding the French varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah to newer vineyards; and also by aging new wines in new French rather than the more usual American barrels. The resulting wines have been described as richly concentrated but well-balanced, with strong tannins and high alcohol - both powerful and graceful. Priorat has also begun to offer some new dry whites and rosis (rosados) in the fresher international style.

  R'AS BAIXAS:
  Apart from sherry and M'laga, classic Spanish white wines have never been popular outside their own country. They tended to be oaky, high in alcohol, low acid and prematurely aged - in a word, flat. But the wines of R'as Baixas in Galicia (in addition to Pened's and a few other areas) indicate that Spanish white wines can be very different. R'as Baixas, in the extreme northwest bordering on Portugal, receives moist Atlantic breezes that give it a cool, damp Mediterranean climate. Wines here are fresh, dry and somewhat acidic. Often compared to those of the nearby Vinho Verde region of Portugal, they are significantly more interesting, and perfect for drinking with seafood and chicken dishes. The major white varietal by far is Albari'o; the remaining ten percent of vineyards can contain Cai'a Blanca, Treixadura, and Loureiro. The best R'as Baixas wines have floral aromas and an apricot character sometimes compared to Condrieu. Reds are not exported.

  RIBERA DEL DUERO:
  Some experts claim that centrally-located Ribera del Duero, Spain's fastest growing wine region, has the greatest potential for memorable red wines. These are largely inspired by the revered Vega Sicilia, an estate producer whose dark Tempranillo wines are balanced with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. For one hundred years Vega Sicilia has taken Spanish tradition to the extreme, growing highly concentrated grapes and aging wines ten years in cask and sometimes more in bottle before releasing exquisite, expensive wines that still benefit from cellar aging. Like slightly smaller versions of Vega Sicilia, other Ribera del Duero Tempranillos are tannic and long-lived, usually inky and massive, with complicated aromas of chocolate, plums and smoke. French varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec are joining the native varietals. White Ribera del Duero uses the indigenous varietal Albillo.

  RIOJA:
  The Rioja river valley in northeast Spain is the country's most prosperous and best-known table wine region. The area parallels the River Ebro, which runs south to the Mediterranean and is intersected by the smaller Rio Oja. The region is sub-divided into three areas: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Baja. The Alta and Alavesa areas produce more aromatic, balanced wines. They have similar climates and soils and face each other across the northern stretch of the River Ebro, while the Rioja Baja lies downstream and is somewhat warmer, producing slightly lower acidity, less balanced wines.

  Of all Spanish regions, Rioja has been most directly influenced by the wine traditions of neighboring France. Eighty percent of Rioja's production is red, and the most respected wines are aged reds, but it also makes both young (joven) and barrel-aged whites and ros's. For the Rioja reds, Tempranillo and Garnacha are the most important grapes, along with small amounts of Graciano, Mazuelo (Carine'a) and others. In a tradition going back over a hundred years, Marqu's de Riscal and a few other experimental vineyards are allowed to cultivate Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines here by special permission. The less common Rioja whites favor oak-aged Viura (Macabeo).

  Rioja has around 14,000 growers who tend fairly small vineyards that may be interspersed with other crops. Traditionally they have sold their grapes to the around one hundred merchants (bodegas) or the thirty cooperatives which vinify about 45% of the wines. Most of these are now equipped with stainless steel tanks and temperature control fermentation facilities.

  Rioja has around 14,000 growers who tend fairly small vineyards that may be interspersed with other crops. Traditionally they have sold their grapes to the around one hundred merchants (bodegas) or the thirty cooperatives which vinify about 45% of the wines. Most of these are now equipped with stainless steel tanks and temperature control fermentation facilities.

  RUEDA:
  Just east of Ribero del Duero and running east to west on the southern bank of the Duero River, the small Rueda region has become known for some of Spain's best white wines. These are made from the native Verdejo grape, often described as "nutty" in flavor, in a less-aged modern style, and are sometimes blended with the more acidic Viura or even Sauvignon Blanc. These wines have clean, simple elegance and good fruit character, and are inexpensive enough to drink every day.

  SOMONTANO:
  Somontano is a relatively new DO region in Aragen, in the Pyrenees foothills of northeast Spain. All of its new investment has been made since joining the European Union in 1986. The geography (about halfway between the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts) and climate --plentiful rain with moderate but sufficiently warm summer temperatures up to 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) -- are both promising viticulturally. A number of international and native varietal vineyards are recently planted, but thus far one cooperative produces over 80 percent of Somontano's wine. The traditional reds were Moristel (believed to be Monastrell) and Garnacha, while newer experimental vineyards now include Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and some Pinot Noir. The traditional whites Viura and Alcanen are now being supplemented by Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Gewerztraminer. Clearly the area is trying to find its true personality, and improved winemaking facilities promise some enchanting wines.

  VALDEPEEAS:
  The Valdepe'as region, situated on the Meseta at an average elevation of 2,300 feet (700 m), is really a southern extension of La Mancha with a similar continental climate, but its wines are slightly more interesting and therefore have their own DO. Valdepeeas produces soft aged red wines; they are something like lesser Riojas in their characteristic vanilla flavor but still have high alcohol content (approaching 16 degrees). The classic red varietals are Tempranillo (Cencibel), Monastrel and Tintorera. The sturdy white Air'n is the most planted varietal and produces ordinary quality, high alcohol white wines (13-14 degrees), and being plentiful, is often blended into lesser red wines. The results have lighter color and less body (and character) than most Tempranillo.