Vintae News - December 2018 - ENGLISH

NUMBER 6, 2018

VINTAGE 2018

WINE FEST

EXCEPTIONAL

What will the 2018 vintage wines be like? Interviews with our winemakers. Pages 2 and 3

Yet again San Vicente de la Sonsierra was brimming over with good wine and good people. Pages 4

The great and the good of the national and international critic world have given us a very good rating. Pages 4

BODEGAS BARDOS RELEASES LABELS AND ENTERS THE RIBERA DEL DUERO TOP 10

B

odegas Bardos, Vintae’s project in Ribera del Duero and Rueda, is updated with a cleaner and more elegant image through four labels that reflect the toughness of a unique land and the courage of the men and women who work it. They are the authentic Bards of the wine.

The extreme climate of Páramo de Corcos, the area where the Bardos vineyards are located, are protagonists in this new, more

minimalist and contemporary image, which transmits the harsh conditions in which the vines give their best.

To celebrate this release, there is nothing better than the excellent scores awarded to our wines by Tim Atkin MW. Atkin recently published a report on Ribera del Duero in which he reviews what are for him the denomination’s 100 best wines, with scores ranging from 92 to 99 points. Bardos Reserva enters the Top 10 of the list with 96 points, in ninth position. For its part, Bardos Romántica

Crianza is awarded 94 points from the British critic and remains 33rd on the list.

Atkin highlights the “astonishing balance, texture and acidity of Bardos Reserva and in both wines he pinpoints the “judicious” use of oak. But undoubtedly the “culprit” of the wines’ elegance is the plateau or paramo, which thanks to its almost 1000 meters of altitude, its climate, its soils, its old vineyards and the brave vine growers who take care of them, provide the grape with the personality that has captivated the Master of Wine (and us).

2 / 2018

2018 VINTAGE SPECIAL

RAÚL ACHA: “This year the climate has been a ticking time bomb”

I

t has been a very wet and complicated year in the field but, finally, the 2018 vintage will show the hard work of the winegrowers and winemakers to get the best out of the vineyard. For an in-depth perspective on all the aspects that have influenced this year’s harvest, we interviewed Raúl Acha, technical director of Vintae.

The weather conditions have marked the harvest this year. Tell us how they have influenced the vineyard.

Weather conditions for 2018 have been a ticking time bomb. 2017 too, but for very different reasons. Last year was the drought and the frost, and this year rain, more rain and then even more rain. Autumn and winter were already very wet, except on the Atlantic side, where the rainfall took a little longer, but also made its appearance. In spring there was already a surplus in the water reserves.

Budding was very late because March began with low temperatures, especially in cold areas such as Rioja Alta and Ribera del Duero.

The cold and rain continued in April and May and finally well into June came a stable period and the vineyard began to respond. But near the end of June saw three weeks with storms, very low temperatures and hail. Storm activity and the number of lightening strikes measured on a national level were record breaking.

With so much rain, problems with fungi and odium arose and especially downy mildew, causing a very virulent attack, difficult to stop.

At the end of July the rains held off and the

attack was able to be controlled. The weather was the only fungicide that worked.

After a dry and calm August, the summer took its leave as it had begun and in the first half of September storms hit again. We were living in fear because there was a threat of rain and hail and the ripening process was coming to an end. In Rioja and Ribera we were spared, the place that fared worst was the Mediterranean.

We arrived at the key moment, the harvest, did the situation improve?

The weather during the harvest period could not have been better. Except on the Mediterranean strip, in the rest of the areas that affect us, it has been dry and with very good temperatures, although there have been some scares. In Uncastillo the rain put us on the ropes as the tropical storm Leslie that came on October 14 brought with it a lot of water. But the plot of La Garnacha Perdida del Pirineo, due to its sloping conditions and altitude, absorbs rainfall very well and was no major problem.

In the area of Haro and San Vicente (La Rioja) it also affected us. More liters fell than we would have liked, and in the final phase of ripening the volumes have been affected, but it will only be a small area, only a few plots, and we can say that we have been lucky.

How has the harvest developed?

Except for these storms and the rain over the October public holiday weekend, the harvest has been staggered and selective. It has been late if we compare it with last years, but if we take the average over the last decades, it has

been a normal harvest. We started in August in the warmer areas (Finca Maetierra) and ended at the end of October with the latest ones: the Garnacha in Uncastillo, Cabernet Sauvignon for Bardos Reserva de Ribera and the last Tempranillo plots in San Vicente. A new change in the weather was coming and we decided to finish, but it might have lasted until November if we had had good weather.

Can you give us any insight into the profile of Vintae wines in this vintage?

It is difficult to say, but I can give you a bit of an idea. It has been an excellent year for all our whites, both the Atlantic coastline and the Verdejo from Rueda, the Viura from Rioja, those from Calahorra and the Garnacha Blanca from Navarra. Excellent without exception. And much the same for the rosés.

Reds were somewhat more irregular. In Navarra we can say that the reds were excellent. Strangely enough in the Yerri Valley we are practically talking about a drought. At times there was abundant rainfall in Rioja and the north of Aragón but in Aroa it was clear skies. Navarra reds will be excellent.

So indeed will be those of Castilla y León, both in Ribera del Duero and Toro. The remaining areas will be somewhat more irregular. Alcoholic content is on average lower than previous years. The vintage can be qualified as very good, I wouldn’t go as far as to say yet, that all the reds are excellent, but what I can say is that there are some very very special things.

2018 / 3

WINEMAKERS INTERVIEWS

IÑAKI OLABERRI: “The Yerri Valley is very regular and this year again we will have very balanced wines”

T

he winemaker of Aroa Bodegas takes stock of his ninth harvest in the Yerri Valley, which has been early and with outstanding quality.

What was the 2018 campaign like?

The beginning of the year was complicated, with the risk of mildew and odium. We had to keep a watchful eye, but we managed to control it. In Aroa we have been lucky, it has been somewhat like an island, especially in the ripening and harvesting phase. In the north it rained a lot but here we have almost had a drought. In general this area is very regular, with dry falls and wet winters, in the dry years between 400 and 500 mm fall and in rainy years between 600 and 800 mm.

How has the vintage developed in Aroa?

It has been quite advanced compared to other years but the ripening process was very good and we have had an excellent quality grape.

What will the Aroa 2018 vintage wines be like?

They will be wines with more volume and very good levels of acidity thanks to the height of the area, so we will be getting what we like: very balanced wines. Temperature fluctuations between day and night help a lot. It has been a hot summer but the nights are cool and that gives us a perfect grape with good phenolic ripening during the harvest.

OCTAVIO MADURGA: “Our 2018 Riojas will have a good aromatic profile, color and a medium to high average structure”

T

he oenologist at Hacienda Lopez de Haro, Octavio Madurga, reviews the Rioja vintage.

In Rioja the weather has kept you on your toes during this campaign.

Yes, the spring was good but in July the problems with the storms and the hot temperatures caused outbreaks of mildew, which hindered ripening by affecting the leaf and reducing the harvest in those vineyards which did not take the appropriate measures. Perhaps the biggest problem came with the rains at the end of October, but in our case we finished the harvest just before the rains arrived. The advantages

of having a technical director like Raúl Acha, a weather whiz.

What was the harvest like?

It has been long (in López de Haro from September 17 to October 26). We have been harvesting plot by plot, always waiting for the vines to mature but moving forward to avoid being caught by the rains at the end of October.

Can we predict the profile for the 2018 wines?

Although they are not yet finished, we can say that in general they are wines with a good aromatic profile, color and a medium-high structure, although we also have some with a lot of color and more structure.

CARMELO CÁMARA: “This vintage the whites will be complex, aromatic, with floral notes and good acidity”

A

fter many nighttime harvests in Maetierra, Carmelo takes stock of 2018, from which he expects very good results.

What was the campaign like and how has climatology affected you in La Rioja?

It has been a very positive campaign, we have had very good quality with a healthy grape arriving to the winery. There were problems in spring, with the rains, but then the weather calmed down. During ripening we have not had excessive rain and the little that has fallen, combined with wind and heat, has helped with ripening.

Has the harvest developed well?

The pace has been slow, we have been harvesting on the dates requested by the vineyard. After picking all the white grapes we had a break of three weeks but in the end the wait was worth it because all the red grapes were harvested at the optimum ripening point.

What will the 2018 vintage wines be like in Maetierra?

Whites will be very aromatic and very fresh wines, with great acidity and a very floral profile. They are going to be very complex wines due to the aromatic compounds brought about by this vintage.

For the reds, we will have wines between 13.5 and 14 degrees. They will be very aromatic and fresh. For the moment they have red tones, aromas also of red fruit, strawberries and blackberries. In the mouth they will be fresh, with sweet tannin, in the case of La Garnacha Salvaje del Moncayo. In the case of La Garnacha Perdida del Pirineo, this vintage also has those notes of undergrowth, spices, rosemary and bay-leaf that we love so much.

4 / 2018

VINTAE WINE FEST 2018

THE WINE GATSBY

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et again this year in October the party with the greatest Flow during the year took place, the Vintae Wine Fest, which in 2018 moved San Vicente de la Sonsierra to the “Roaring 20s” with its theme, The Wine Gatsby. The streets of the Sonsierra village were filled with Gatsbys, flappers, cabaret dancers, casinos and clandestine bars to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the end of the dry law and, of course, to honor wine and friendship.

VINTAE MEDAL TABLE During the last months of the year we remained unstoppable at clocking up medals and excellent scores for our wines. This is the medal table at the end of 2018: 1

2

3

6

5

4

94 points 96 points

7

90 points 9

8

10

91 points 1. Bardos Reserva 96 points Tim Atkin MW 2. Bardos Romántica Crianza 94 points Tim Atkin MW 90 points Peñín Guide 2019 Silver Medal IWC 2019 3. López De Haro Crianza Top 100 Wine Enthusiast Silver Medal Decanter Awards 4. López De Haro Blanco

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91 points

93 points

90 points

92 points

100 of Rioja´s Top Wines, Harpers Magazine 5. López De Haro Gran Reserva 92 points Wine & Spirits 90 points Peñín Guide 2019 100 of Rioja´s Top Wines, Harpers Magazine Silver Medal IWC 2018 6. López De Haro Edición Limitada 90 points Peñín Guide 2019

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90 points

90 points

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7. El Pacto 91 points Peñín Guide 2019 Top 100 Rioja Meininger 100 of Rioja´s Top Wines, Harpers Magazine 8. El Pícaro De Matsu Silver Medal Decanter Awards Silver Medal AWC Vienna 2018 9. El Recio De Matsu 91 points Wine Enthusiast

@vintae

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90 points

91 points

90 points Peñín Guide 2019 Silver Medal IWC 2019 10. El Viejo De Matsu 93 points Wine Enthusiast 92 points Peñín Guide 2019 11. La Garnacha Perdida Del Pirineo 90 points Peñín Guide 2019 12. La Garnacha Salvaje Del Moncayo 91 points Peñín Guide 2019

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