wIne and drInk

Rueda&Ribero del Duero

Spain has a wine culture as historic as France or Italy and ofers a startling variety of wine styles and grape varieties. Spain has a number of things going for it, the climate is excellent for viticulture, and there are plenty of old vines and a lot of indigenous grape varieties. In Spain the Consejo Regulador, the law making body for wine is locally based and not centrally controlled as it is in France and Italy, so they are more in touch with what is happening and up to date. As a result they are more open to change and experimentation than any other European wine country. The key to quality in Spain is their old vines and low yields. The new style Vino del Terra is “New Style Spain” similar to IGT in Italy and IPR in France. In recent years winemakers have been quick to take in new technology to their bodegas and many of the most modern wineries in Europe are now to be found in Spain. In February 2016 I took part in Concours du Sauvignon which took place in Spain’s Castilla y León region, at the Parador in Tordesillas. There are 94 Parador’s in Spain, the frst was opened in 1928 by King Alfonso, they are all located in beautiful or historical settings. They include former palaces, ancient convents and medieval castles. The Parador de Tordesillas was once a private house, today it is a superb hotel just outside the city of Valladolid. Though we were there to judge Sauvignon Blanc, an important grape in the Rueda DO the trip reinforced my love afair with the region’s indigenous grape Verdejo. Rueda was put on the wine map by Marques de Riscal who moved production of their white grapes from the warmer region of Rioja to the cooler, high altitude climate of Rueda in 1972, because they wanted to make a fresher style of white wine. This started wine making on a commercial basis, the result of which was that the Rueda wine appellation was given its ofcial status by Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture on January 12, 1980, becoming the frst ofcially established wine appellation in the Castilla y León region. At the time the DO status was to try to gain recognition and protection for the region’s indigenous grape variety Verdejo. Today there are 69 wineries and 1,500 vine growers. 85% of the total production is the native Verdejo grape.

Rueda&Ribero del Duero Spain’s powerhouse regions

41% of all white wines produced in Spain come from the region of Rueda; it is the market leader for the production of quality white wines. Rueda is the second most popular wine region on the Spanish domestic market, (2nd only to Rioja). They sell 83 million bottles of white wine (mostly Verdejo) annually. Verdejo is the indigenous grape of the region, but as earlier mentioned, they also grow a lot of Sauvignon Blanc and Viura and they do blend the varieties together. Rueda is situated on a high plain, about 2,500 feet above sea level. Winters are cold and very long, spring is short with late frosts, summers are hot and dry. These extreme conditions are the key to the quality of the white wines in the region. Verdejo has been grown in Rueda since the 16th century. The grape was most likely brought to the region by the Basques. The genius of the grape is its unique palette of aromas and favours. The wines display touches of scrubland herbs, hay and fennel that mingle with intense fruit and refreshing acidity. On the palate, they have body and structure, which is the hallmark of great white wines

and they display a characteristic bitterness in the fnish which is very appealing. Nearby to Rueda, also in Castilla y León you will fnd the DO of Ribera del Duero which is one of Spain’s most famous DO’s for red wine, but which does not yet have the recognition of the more well-known DO of Rioja. However, it probably doesn’t harm the region’s reputation that Spain’s iconic wine, Vega Sicilia is produced here. Ribera del Duero is one of Spain’s top winemaking red wine regions and the wines are made predominantly from the Tempranillo grape. In 1915, Vega Sicilia’s Basque winemaker, Domingo Garramiola Txomin began producing quality table wine. The wine immediately impressed the wine world. In 1929, Vega Sicilia’s 1917 and 1918 wines won international acclaim for their quality at the Barcelona World Fair; the wines were made from Tempranillo, enhanced with Bordeaux grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec. For most of the 20th century Vega Sicilia was the most expensive wine in Spain. Surprisingly, no other premium wine estates emerged from the region until 1975, when Tinto Pesquera wine was released. Pesquera immediately won over the critics with its bold favours, ripe fruit and deep colour. Robert Parker raved about the 1983 vintage, calling it the “the Petrus of Spain”. This lead to an infux of investors, and a rapid rise in production and quality. The success of Vega Sicilia and Pesquera convinced local producers to focus their attentions on making quality red wine in the region. It was Alejandro Fernandez from Pesquera who lead the fght to seek DO status. In 1982, the DO was awarded transforming

wine production in the region. According to DO regulations, red wines must be made from at least 75% Tempranillo grapes. The rest may be made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec. While Garnacha Tinta and Albillo (a white grape variety also known locally as Pardina), may be used to make up 5% of the blend. At the time the DO was granted, there were just a handful of producers in the region, today there are around 300. The production of grapes rapidly increased from 22.8million kg in 1991 to over 87.2 million kg by 2009. Winemaking in Ribera del Duero was transformed in the early 1980s with the introduction of new and improved viticultural and modern winemaking techniques. This modernisation continues with a trend for using more stainless steel and concrete fermentation Vats, as well as using gravity fow to move juice and wine; whole cluster fermentation, temperature control, use of newer oak with more reductive storage regimes as well as a minimization of oxygen uptake in maturing wines. A growing number of vintners, such as Bodegas Emilio Moro in 1998, have forgone the traditional practice of labelling their wines Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva in order to vary the amount of oak used in their wines based on the quality of the fruit or to create diferent styles of wine. The Consejo Regulador has responded to this desire for greater fexibility. In 2006, it increased the minimum size barrique required from 225 to 335 litres. Premium producers in the region still prize traditional low-yielding, old bush (Gobelet) vines. The vines are pruned to grow as bushes rather than vertically trellised and are not densely planted. The grapes grow low to the ground under a circular canopy of leaves which protects them from the sun. The advantage of bush pruning is that it naturally limits the yield of grapes on the vine, concentrating the favour in the fruit. These old vines look diferent from many of the vines being planted today; they have smaller leaves, smaller clusters, and smaller grapes. Bush vines are a more expensive way to grow grapes in general because all work must be done by hand. Newer plantings tend to use systems with double cordon trellising, a training method which allows mechanical pruning and harvesting and is therefore easier and more economical than the manual work required by bush vines. Lower yields are achieved by green harvesting and thinning grape clusters. Cover crops are also being planted around vines to absorb excessive water and soil nutrients, thus reducing vine vigour. The use of French oak is increasing and the percentage of new oak used has been decreasing in recent years with winemakers wanting to reduce the more obvious infuence of American oak with its dominant coconut and vanilla favours to create a less-oaked, more vibrant, fruit-forward style of wine. Even Vega Sicilia, with its famously long oak aged wines, has been reduced the time its wines are oaked from 10 to 6 years. Ribera del Duero red wines are the great with Sunday roasts, steak and barbequed meats. They have a particular afnity with lamb, making the perfect accompaniment to Ribera del Duero’s regional dish, Lechazo, roast suckling lamb.

Recommended wines:

RUEDA

2014 Prado Rey Verdejo

Prado Rey’s history dates back to 1503 when the Earl of Ribadeo sold the Real Sitio de Ventosilla estate in Ribero del Duero to Queen Isabella I of Castile. The estate belonged to the Crown until the 19th century when it became the property of the Duke of Caldas. In 1921 it was sold to a private owner. Today, Javier Cremade the owner of the Estate, has extensive lands in Ribero and a state of the art modern winery recently built in Rueda. The Prado Rey Verdejo has hints of aniseed and fennel on the nose, the palate is full boded with lovely ripe tropical fruit notes and a hint of citrus.

Prado Rey is available in the UK through the importer C&D wines www.canddwines.co.uk

Palacio de Bornos Brut Nature

Made from 100% Verdejo this sparkling wine from Rueda is made using the method traditionelle. What a fnd this is, fresh with good mousse lots of crisp acidity and that lovely herbaceous bite to the fnish.

Palacio de Bornos is available in the UK through the importer C&D wines www.canddwines.co.uk

2014 MARQUÉS De CÁCeReS Sauvignon Blanc

Originally from France’s Loire region, the Rueda style is diference is due to the greater number of sunshine hours compared with areas such as the Loire Valley or Bordeaux. This is a fne example of Sauvignon Blanc from the region, very subtle on the nose, lots of minerality showing through, very restrained and beautifully made.

Marques de Caceres is available in the UK through the importers Halewood International http:// www.halewood-int.com/

2014 Castelo de Medina Vendimia Seleccionada

Made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc this is a single vineyard wine. Quite earthy on the nose and very complex. Production and yield are low and the complexity of the soil really shows through. Wonderfully smoky character on the nose, foral in the mouth with notes of grapefruit and passion fruit, rather than the finty character found in Loire Sauvignon Blanc.

Castelo de Medina is available in the UK through the importer Morgonrot Group plc http://www.morgenrot.co/

RIBERO DEL DUERO

2011 Protos Roble Do Ribero del Duero

Tempranillo is the main and indigenous grape of Ribera del Duero, where it is known as Tinto Fino or Tinta. Being early-ripening it is ideally suited to Ribera’s short growing season. In Ribera del Duero, these grapes combined with the unique growing conditions and careful winemaking typically produces characterful fresh and fruity wines with notes of black plums, cherries and liquorice. Made from 100% Tempranillo with 6 months in American oak casks and 6 more in the bottle until its release.

Protos is available in the UK through Walker & Wodehouse Wines. http://walkerwodehousewines.com

2012 Matarromera Do Ribera del Duero Crianza

Matarromera is a prestigious wine group devoted to viticulture, wine making and oil, present in four Appellations of Origin surrounded by the Duero River: Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Cigales and Toro. We visited their Bodega Emina in Rueda for a super lunch and enjoyed the Crianza with the most gorgeous roasted meats (“asados”). Bodegas Matarromera is situated right in the heart of the Ribera de Duero. Its facilities are partially buried in the north hillside of the Duero Valley with beautiful views that towers above the whole valley of the municipal district of Valbuena de Duero in Valladolid.

The Matarromera Crianza is made from 100% Tempranillo which was aged for 14 months in a mix of American and French Oak and a further 10 months in bottle. This is a typical red from Ribero del Duero with lots of ripe sweet juicy fruit. It has soft tannin and a beautiful cherry fruit flavour on the finish. I love this wine style, definitely a food wine and one particularly to enjoy with any sort of roast meat.

Matarromera is available in the UK through its importer Gonzalez Byass UK http://gonzalezbyassuk.com