Ribera del Duero

Question 1

Pablo Alvarez

Answer 1

Unassuming General Director of Vegas Siclia and producer of Unico, a Tempranillo blend widely revered as Spain’s finest wine.

Question 2

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1982

Answer 2

A very great year, the best since 1970, with plenty of Reserva wines.

Question 3

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1986

Answer 3

Good in Rioja but outshone by Riberas of complexity and power.

Question 4

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1989

Answer 4

Plenty of rich and charming wines from both regions.

Question 5

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1990

Answer 5

Another large and fine quality crop in all areas.

Question 6

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1991

Answer 6

An excellent year in Spain, only a small crop but impressive weight and structure.

Question 7

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1992

Answer 7

This looked good until prolonged rains, which diluted the grapes and encouraged rot. Early maturing. Should have been drunk.

Question 8

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1993

Answer 8

Heavy harvest rains again. Good but not great seems the rule.

Question 9

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1994

Answer 9

Quality isn’t a problem but quantity is after spring frosts and summer drought. Some very nice wines indeed.

Question 10

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1995

Answer 10

Another frost-shrunk crop in Ribera del Duero, although the grapes were riper and probably better balanced than in 1994. Rioja’s bodegas, on the other hand, were swollen by an enormous harvest of ripe, healthy grapes.

Question 11

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1996

Answer 11

Particularly successful in Ribera del Duero, where ripe, relatively friendly wines were made.

Question 12

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1997

Answer 12

Rain at harvest. Not glorious.

Question 13

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1998

Answer 13

Despite spring frosts, yields were still too high to ripen some grapes sufficiently in Ribera del Duero. Quantity was also Rioja’s strong suit.

Question 14

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 1999

Answer 14

April frost in Rioja delayed ripening of grapes that suffered thanks to summer rains. Better quality in Ribera del Duero, however, although harvest rain reduced acidity. Good quality but not quite as good as 1998.

Question 15

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2000

Answer 15

Record crop levels and extremely variable quality with exceptionally high summer temperatures and in many cases a lack of concentration. Some very good wines from Ribera del Duero though.

Question 16

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2001

Answer 16

Smaller-than-usual crop because of spring frosts but distinctly superior quality accentuated in some cases by further deliberate crop thinning. Some very fine wines.

Question 17

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2002

Answer 17

Exceptionally cold winter and spring was followed by nasty wet weather during summer - disastrous for both quality and quantity. Rain persisted even during harvest. Truly a severe test for both regions.

Question 18

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2003

Answer 18

Small, early, drought-plagued harvest of often unbalanced wines.

Question 19

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2004

Answer 19

Very good year, especially for Rioja, with wines that should last well.

Question 20

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2005

Answer 20

Another good vintage with high temperatures but with (just) enough rain.

Question 21

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2006

Answer 21

Some spring hail in Rioja. Hot summer with some drought stress. Has not lived up to the two previous vintages.

Question 22

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2007

Answer 22

After a miserable summer, frost on 24 September decimated the crop from many young Ribera del Duero vineyards. Most grapes struggled to ripen but late pickers were rewarded. Not a stellar year though.

Question 23

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2008

Answer 23

Very good quality for Rioja, with favourable weather throughout autumn. In Ribera del Duero, temperatures were cooler than normal, giving a slow, balanced ripening process and elegant wines as a result.

Question 24

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2009

Answer 24

Very hot conditions gave average temperatures above the infamous 2003 vintage. However, timely rains in Rioja and Ribera del Duero relieved the vines and rescued the vintage. Very good quality.

Question 25

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2010

Answer 25

Exceptional for Ribera del Duero with no excessive weather patterns, uniform ripeness and quality as promising as 2004. Good quality in Rioja also, considered better than 2009.

Question 26

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2011

Answer 26

Hot and heat-stressed for the vines in Rioja with lower acidity than average but powerful, concentrated wines of good quality. Similarly hot in Ribera del Duero, giving very powerful intensity and smooth, soft tannins.

Question 27

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2012

Answer 27

A weird year of weather in Spain. It was the fifth consecutive small vintage, thanks in large part to very dry conditions. The resultant small berries harvested in Rioja are likely to make wines of great concentration and high tannin. The Ribera del Duero crop was also shrunk by drought but producers there are a little more optimistic about eventual quality.

Question 28

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2013

Answer 28

Despite a cool, wet start to the year, a long dry summer in Ribera del Duero heralded full fruit ripeness at harvest, with below average temperatures promising fine flavour development. Frequent bouts of wet weather in Rioja, together with the cold spring, resulted in some uneven ripening and a delayed harvest that slipped into November in some parts, yet yields here were slightly up on 2012 and producers are optimistic.

Question 29

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2014

Answer 29

The official report from Rioja describes the 2014 harvest as improved in quality and quantity compared to 2013, though they acknowledge some grey rot affected the final week of harvest.

Question 30

Rioja and Ribera del Duero- 2015

Answer 30

Ribera was hot and dry in 2015. Old vines did well while younger vines struggled. Volume was lower than in 2014 by up to one third. Low nitrogen levels led to some struggling ferments, but the flavour ripeness is very high, with soft tannins and high potential alcohol. Alcohol will also be higher than usual in Rioja, again with powerful concentration and richness. A short, early harvest reflected the ripeness of the crop. Berries were small across the region, with the higher, cooler vineyards of Rioja showing especially high quality.

Question 31

Vega Sicilia

Answer 31

• 1864 the owner travelled to Bordeaux
• Bought back 18,000 vines
• Cab Sav, Merlot, Malbec, Carmenere and weirdly, Burgundian P/N
• Originally famous for Brandy and Eau- de- Vie
• Became famous in the 1890s when Phylloxera attacked some of Spain
• 1915 first offical vintage, but it was seen as an aristocratic wine in society
• 1982 bought by the Alvarez family who have helped to make it more mysterious
• Tempranillo (Tinto Fino) and Bordeaux varieties (usually Cab Sav), still spends 6-7 yrs in wood, followed by several years in bottle- muscaltion and education but it is also about Terroir and sense of place is more important

Question 32

Was the king of Spain turned down for Vega Sicilia?

Answer 32

According to a story he was told he would have to wait for an allocation like everyone else