Spain: Winemaking Flashcards
Spain: General Winemaking
-evolved over the last 40 years
-More protective , fruity styles for early drinking
-SS tanks and , temp controlled, inert gases, cultured yeats, fining and filteration
-also lots of carbonic and semi carbonic maceration
- Temperature controlled SS tanks are common for premium reds.
-Oak maturation is common for red that are mid-prem priced
-Top white wines are fermented and matured in oak / some lees contact for texture
-Most common is Amercian oak due to trading with the US , however more French is now seen for prem/super prem wines DO’s Priorat, Penedes and Ribera del Douro
Spain: Crianza, Reserva and Grand Reserva
National legislation: Each DO has different ageing specs but never lower than the set minimums
-Oak barrels must be max. 330L
Generic - no ageing regquiremtns
Crianza. -
RED : 2 years / 6 in Barrel
WHITE and ROSE : 1.5 years /** 6** in barrel
Reserva :
RED: 2.5 years / 12 months in barrel
WHITE and ROSE: 2 years / **6 **in oak
**Grand Reserva : **
RED: 5 years / 1.5 yrs in barrel
WHITE and ROSE : 4 years / 6 months in oak
Critised for being too prescriptive and also not
-No quality requirements for the wines
- age and origin of wine is not specified and only minimun ageing is specified
= little indictation of style, quality and value
- indivudal producers can chose to label or not
-Most seen in Rioja and Ribera del Douro
- not used in Priorat and Bierzo
- ROBLE is more commonly used for unspceified time in oak / also the term Joven - young
Spain: Rose
-aka Rosado
-inexpensive and bulk
Some emerging mid-prem priced wines
eg. Navarra Rose
-Better understanding of vineyard practices, harvesting and focus on market trends , lower alcohol , less jammy
- Deep in colour/ fruity/ skin contact , but now more Provence style as per trends in the market
-fermented in SS tanks and botteld soon after
-Mid-prem priced wines are matured in oak or stored on lees for texture and complexity
-Traditional style eg. Bodegas Lopez de Heredia
Wines are mixture of white and black , macerated, pressed and then fermented together
-Martured in oak leading to a reduction in flavours but greater texture and complexity from secondary and tertiary flavours
