Spain - La Rioja Flashcards
La Riojoa geography (location)
North central Spain
La Rioja map
Known as Spain’s Bordeaux!
La Rioja geography (features)
Foothills of Cantabrian and Pyrenees Mountains
Ebro River flows through - provides warm summers and mild winters
La Rioja climate
- RAIN SHADOW created by Cantabrian Mountains
- Blocks cold influence of Atlantic Ocean
- Continental climate
- Alavesa is coolest and wrrest
- Oriental is Mediterranean
La Rioja soil
Calcareous clay
Ferrous clay
Alluvial
Best vineyards in clay/limestone soils
Rioja vinification
Traditionally aged in American oak
Carbonic maceration is common on joven styles
Old vines
White grapes
Viura
Malvasia
Garnacha Blanca
Red grapes
TEMPRANILLO
Granacha
Mazuelo (Carignan)
Graciano (on the rise)
La Rioja DOCa
Spain’s first DOCa!
Dry red (tino) wines from Tempranillo grape and white wines from Viura grape
La Rioja DOCa subzones
Rioja Alta
Rioja Baja
Rioja Alavesa
Rioja Alta
- High altitude
- Hilly area covering most of the western half of region
- Mild climate
- Best grapes produced here
Rioja Alavesa
- Part of Rioja Alta north of the Ebro
- Mild climate
- Best grapes produced here
Rioja Oriental
- Lower flatter eastern portion of Rioja DOCa
- Previously known as Rioja Baja but recently changed name because of connotation of “baja”
- Hottest and driest of the zones
Rioja aging requirements for Rioja Tinto
Crianza
Reserva
Gran Reserva
How long is aging for Crianza?
2yrs min, 1 yr in oak
How long is aging for Reserva?
3yrs min, 1 yr in oak
How long is aging for Gran Reserva
5yrs min, 2 yrs in oak
Only made during best vintages
What does Joven mean in regards to Rioja?
“Young wine”
Means wine spent less than a year in oak
Fresh and easy drinking
What are Vinedos Singulares?
- 2017
- “Single-vineyard wines”
- Must petition Spain’s regulatory body to ask for single-vineyard status
- Vineyard must be at least 35 yrs old
- Grapes must be harvested by hand
- Bodega must have been buying grapes from vineyard for at least 10yrs.
What styles of wine are produced in Rioja?
- Rioja Rosado also produced
- Modern producers making more fruit focused wines using French oak and avoiding traditional labelling terms of Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva
Rioja producers to know
Marques de Riscal
Marques de Caceres
Finca Allende
Bodegas Lopez de Heredia (one of the most classic Riojas)
La Rioja Alta
Rioja/Bordeaux relationship during Phylloxera
- When oidium the phylloxera attacked vineyards in France, the French depended on Spain for wine
- French negociants travelled to Rioja for wine and the region boomed and grew by 40,000 acres
- Some negociants stayed in Spain and began bodegas of their own vinifying wines in French style
- In 1901 when the cure for phylloxera was figured out, the music stopped and Rioja was left without a major market.
- Many barrels had been left to age with no market to export and thus long oak aging became a hallmark of the region
How oak use and amount of oxidation affect food pairing?
Can be done thru oak barrel, cement tanks, open-top fermentation, anfora, or any other method of controlled oxygen exposure, these complex wines display flavors that lean more toward the cooked/dried fruit world, with notes of nuttiness, yeastiness, and even umami.
Because of their unique character, varied aromas and levels of complexity, oxidative wines are incredibly versatile, jiving with foods traditionally tough to pair, like artichokes, raw fish, shellfish, and even cooked, richer items.
