NUMBER 8, 2019
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“NATURE AND THE COUNTRYSIDE ARE ALWAYS A TRUE REFLECTION OF HARVEST QUALITY” This fall has been the most beautiful over the last decade and the beauty from the landscape can also be found in the wines. It has been a vintage which has panned out intensely in the field, a year full of mixed emotions. Expectations were high, we all wanted them to come to fruition with a premium quality harvest, as we had been led to expect given the excellent conditions that had occurred until the end of the summer. However, September brought a cold snap, the threat of botrytis, and with it the unpromising omens for many winemakers. But just as they arrived, we were able to bid them farewell thanks to the northwest wind, the sun, the cool nights and the dry weather, which transformed all those fears into a calm, leisurely and very qualitative harvest. The initial expectations of a quality vintage have not fallen short in the tastings, which are showing spectacular wines. At Vintae we firmly believe in respectful viticulture and winemaking, and thanks to that philosophy we manage to express the full potential of each area where we elaborate wines. In the end, if there is something this crew can be proud of, it is that, despite the ups and downs of the vintages, the top-notch team we have in the field and in the cellar brings together the knowledge, experience and know-how that enables us to adapt to the peculiarities of each harvest and make the best of it. RICHI ARAMBARRI CEO of Vintae
RAÚL ACHA WINEMAKER AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR OF VINTAE “2019 will be remembered as a vintage of quality, we have had an excellent grape in all areas” We are interviewing Raúl Acha, technical director of Vintae, the person who best knows each of the vineyards where we have cut clusters in recent years. From this vintage, Acha expects wines of great quality, as have been the grapes that have entered the winery, although “it will be a scarcer vintage than we would have liked.” How would you evaluate the 2019 vintage? Although it is still early (the interview was ca-
rried as the last grape was being brought into the cellar) the assessment is much more positive than it is negative. The quality, in general, will be very good, or excellent in nearly all areas. The quantity has been much scarcer than we would have liked, but it is also true that the most abundant harvests tend to be more problematic and of lower quality. There are a few drawbacks, perhaps the most important is that we will have some wines with higher alcoholic contents than we are used to. There has also been a small amount of botrytis, especially in the week of September 16-21, when the days were almost tropical.
What was 2019 like climatologically and how has it affected the vineyard? A rather dry agricultural year throughout the peninsula, although not in all areas. It was drier in general in both Castillas, Extremadura and part of Galicia, and not so dry in the Mediterranean and the Ebro Valley, where it was more normal. The lack of rain has caused a rather scarce harvest. The size of the clusters has been smaller and the fruit set was lower. This is due to the fact that last year the vines had an excessive load and years of overload usually provoke wines that are, let’s say, more tired, in successive harvests. The fruit set, both in number of clusters and their size and number of berries per cluster has been lower than previous vintages. The size of the berry and its weight has also been less than other years, due to the lack of rain. While it is true that it rained little, it did so at key moments, which has helped make a very qualitative vintage. We have not
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suffered from excessive drought that can result in poor quality but rather, in terms of water stress, the vines have maintained a certain balance. The lack of rain and the low humidity in spring and summer have caused a spectacular year in terms of health. Disease has been largely absent, with the vines arriving to harvest practically unaided, naturally, with hardly any treatments. In most areas of Spain the vineyard has been left untreated and the grapes have been healthy, something that happens very rarely. How has the harvest developed? 2019 was between slightly early and normal. It was much earlier than last year and depending on
the areas we are talking about, starting between 7 to 14 days beforehand. But with respect to the average of recent years, it has been more or less a normal, a slightly early harvest. It is true that if we compare the dates with the records over the last 50 years it would be early, but with respect to recent years, only slightly so. Can you give us any insight into the profile of Vintae wines in this vintage? The wines will have a high quality profile, they are very healthy wines in the same way that the grape has been. There have been no problems with fermentations occurring spontaneously and very naturally. We have to be careful with some tanks,
since some vineyards produced high alcoholic contents and it may take time for fermentation to finish. With high alcoholic content it is harder to finish the fermentation because there is a point when alcohol can kill yeasts. In short, it will be a year with good quality, with a slightly higher than average alcohol content than we are accustomed to, although in Vintae we have tried to counteract it with a slightly earlier harvest. We always want our wines to be mature but at the same time maintain freshness, and in some cases we decided to harvest beforehand and avoid high alcohol content. Despite this, alcohol content will be slightly higher than previous years.
VICKY GARCÍA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR OF BODEGA MAETIERRA “An excellent vintage, so we are expecting our whites to be very aromatic” Maetierra always kicks off the harvest for Vintae, this year on August 26, with a very healthy grape which, according to Vicky García, technical director of the winery, will give us fruity, floral and fresh Libalis again. How would you assess the 2019 vintage? The harvest has been very good in terms of quality, the condition of the grape has been unbeatable, the vineyards have had less load, aith a smaller amount of grapes, but excellent in condition. The harvest has been somewhat earlier than last year, faster and more intense. What has 2019 been like climatologically there? How has it affected the vineyard? The period in general was dry, so the grape has enjoyed unbeatable sanitary conditions. Can you give us any insight into the profile of Vintae wines in this vintage? Sampling allowed us to plan the harvest for the optimum ripening period, preserving the aromatic, acidity and sugar parameters so characteristic of our wines, to obtain very aromatic whites.
IRIA OTERO ATLANTIS PROJECT WINEMAKER “In Galicia it has been one of the best harvests I can remember” From her headquarters in the most rural areas of Galicia, where she controls the vineyards and elaborations of the Galician Atlantis, Iria Otero, winemaker, tells us that this 2019 vintage will be remembered as one of the highest quality in recent years, a vintage to “enjoy and lay down”.
What was 2019 like climatologically there? After an unusually warm start to spring, the vine woke up about 15 days earlier than usual. However, the rains and cold recorded in the first days of flowering, resulted in a high rate of creep, which occurred more intensely in Rías Baixas.
How would you assess the 2019 vintage in Galicia? The 2019 vintage has been one of the most intense in recent years. The harvest was slightly early, but the weather and a somewhat stressed vine, have made it last longer. And yet, it has been one of the best I remember... the quality, in each and every one of the areas in which we make Atlantis, has been exceptional.
The summer was quite warm and without significant rainfall, so ripening was slightly delayed towards the end of the cycle. This caused general ripening in the different zones to have been very unequal, with high alcohol grapes and others with high acidities and more restrained alcohol levels.
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The end of the harvest was marked by several days of rains, causing harvest to be prolonged in areas such as Ribeiro. How has it affected the vineyard? In Rías Baixas the problems in flowering have resulted in very low yields, with the harvest ending up with about 30% less production than expected. In Ribeiro, the ripening has suffered ups and downs, leading to a harvest with a more subdued volume and somewhat fresher grapes than other years. In Valdeorras, however, an area that in the last 2 years has suffered intensely from the inclement weather, this year it was lucky and the Godello grape has entered the winery before the rains and in excellent conditions. How has the harvest developed? The start of harvest was slightly early compared to other years, although not as much as expected at the beginning of the cycle due to the stress suffered by the plant during the summer. However, differences in ripening led to end- of-harvest dates coming close to normal values. Can you give us any insight into the profile of Vintae wines in this vintage? Despite the difficulties mentioned, everything seems to indicate that the 2019 harvest will be remembered as one of the highest quality in recent years. The grapes entered the winery in an excellent sanitary condition, and with all the requirements to give rise to sapid, round wines and the freshness achieved will sustain them over time and make them very long-lasting. Without a doubt, a vintage to enjoy and keep.
PEDRO BALDA WINEMAKER AND DIRECTOR OF R&D+I AT VINTAE “Such a warm year has brought us optimum ripening on the periphery of high areas” This year’s base wines for our sparkling wines (a project yet to be unveiled) will be very expressive. Their peripheral situation and the warm 2019 vintage have led to an excellent harvest, according to the Director of R&D+i at Vintae, Pedro Balda.
How has the harvest developed? Regarding the dates, they have been slightly later than last year; but since it is still a young vineyard, it is difficult to make comparisons in these first years. In the case of the whites, they were harvested on September 10, with spectacular sanitary conditions and clusters balanced with vegetation.
How would you assess the 2019 vintage? Being a very warm year, we have had perfect ripening in the peripheral high areas (much cooler). Ripening was completed exceptionally well, and in a much slower and more suitable way, unlike the vineyards in the valley, which if used for sparkling wines this year would have been a real disaster.
In the case of the Garnacha vineyards for the sparkling rosé wines, we harvested on September 26 with the usual yields for the Garnacha Tinta in the DOCa Rioja.
In addition, the vineyards did not suffer as much frost as those in the valley (although they did have some frost), since they are sloping vineyards, they have a much better natural protection than a flat vineyard. In the vineyards for white varieties we have had low yields, around 3,000 kg / Ha, which leads to a concentration of amino acid richness and making much more expressive “base wines”. They are still young vineyards, which still need to settle, but they are giving impressive fruit... perhaps because of the peripheral situation they have to experience each day.
Can you give us any insight into the profile of base wines in this vintage? White stands out for its intense finesse and acidity, as well as citrus notes of lime and mineral tones, which make it very interesting for the future sparkling wines. But we already know that it will have to be a sparkling wine with a long period of stacking on its own lees, so that that vibrant acidity is fully integrated into the wine. In the case of rosé, it also stands out for its very good acidity, although somewhat less than in white. It has a gentle character in the mouth and discrete red fruits on the nose. Very elegant and pleasant.
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OCTAVIO MADURGA WINEMAKER AT HACIENDA LÓPEZ DE HARO WINERY “The 2019 vintage has great potential to produce, balanced and structured wines for aging” Satisfaction and expectation to see how they continue to evolve as great wines after a vintage of “spectacular” quality, this is what Octavio Madurga, winemaker at Bodega Hacienda López de Haro has conveyed to us. How would you assess the 2019 vintage? With the evolution of the wines still pending, the harvest in Rioja Alta has been of a high quality due to different reasons but all of them conditioned by the spectacular year 2019, climatologically speaking. This year the vineyards were “underloaded” (few grapes) due to the lower stock vigor, and with loose clusters, which has allowed to have a very good sanitary condition and a good ripening, producing grapes, based on principle, with great potential for elaborating long-life, balanced and structured wines. However, it is true that alcohol content is slightly higher than previous years.
What has 2019 been like there climatologically? How has it affected the vineyard? The most remarkable thing in Rioja Alta climatologically speaking is the low rainfall. During the months of December 2018 to February 2019 (resting state of the vineyard) it was significant and very positive for accumulating a water reserve in the soil, which the plant has been able to make use of during the vegetative period. From April to July rainfall was very scarce, which led to, among other things, the clusters of the 2019 vintage being small. Throughout summer, the year continued relatively dry and as a result, together with the dry spring, the grape did not grow too much in size, thus achieving a very good skin/pulp ratio and, consequently, concentrated grapes. In the month of September, rain slowed the harvest down a few days but that did not negatively affect the quality since the clusters were loose (thus avoiding botrytis). On the contrary, this was even beneficial due to the spectacular October weather where the grapes gained a lot.
MARTÍN PADÍN WINEMAKER AT BODEGAS MATSU “The wines of this vintage can be kept for a long time”
How has the harvest developed? The vintage 2019, came a couple of days early compared to 2018, within the range of “normal” dates, far from 2017 that was extremely early. Can you give us any insight into the profile of Hacienda López de Haro wines in this vintage? In principle, the 2019 vintage wines are looking very good. Grape ripening has been very good. They are quite aromatic wines (both white and red). The reds are high in polyphenols, mature (non-aggressive) tannins and good acidity which suggests that they will evolve very well during aging.
IÑAKI OLABERRI WINEMAKER AT AROA BODEGAS “In Aroa Bodegas, the wines will have color, concentration and will be very aromatic”
From Toro, Martin Padin, winemaker of Matsu, explains that the year in the Zamora denomination “was like the rest of Spain, dry”. “The plant has suffered greater water stress than other years,” he says. In summer, the cool nights caused a slowdown in ripening, so the harvest dates in Toro were normal, between the end of September and the beginning of October. The wines, according to Padín, “are more balanced than other years and more concentrated.” He says that from what can already be seen, “the wines of 2019 can be kept for a long time”.
In Aroa Bodegas, the tonic has been similar to other areas, less grape than other years but “very good quality”, says Iñaki Olaberri, our Navarra winemaker responsible for the winery located in the Yerri Valley. “This year the rains arrived late and nearly didn’t arrive at all...”, he jokes. This circumstance caused the harvest to start early at first, it then held back and in the final phase it was not rushed. “This has given us high quality, lightweight, concentrated grapes,” says Olaberri. As for varieties, the White Garnacha was the one that was early, then the Tempranillos and Merlots were “more or less on schedule” and finally the red Garnachas and Cabernets, somewhat early “. In general, the assessment made by the winemaker of Aroa is very positive. As for the profile of the wines of the 2019 vintage in the Yerri Valley, he predicts “a lot of color, concentration and very aromatic wines”.
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