Spain is an enormous country with vast swathes of vineyards, a lot of which are situated in the baking hot centre of the country. As a result, it is their reds which they are most famous for and the best regions are situated in the cooler north of the country. However red Rioja is only part of the story.
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| Image thanks to www.alcoholbeverage.com |
The three top quality red wine appellations in Spain are indeed Rioja, but also Ribera del Duero, and Priorat.
Rioja is by far Spain's most famous appellation. Rioja is situated in the north of the country, and produces reds, whites and roses. The dominant grape varieties are Tempranillo & Garnacha (aka Grenache) for the reds, and Viura, Malvasia & Garnacha Blanca for the whites. Rioja producers love ageing their wines in oak so you will find a lot of their reds show notes of coconut or vanilla. With the whites, producers are moving away from oak and concentrating on stainless steel so the wines are much drier and fresh - almost Sauvignon Blanc-like in taste. Also their roses tend to be quite rich and dry, the perfect accompaniment to a BBQ.
Ribera del Duero is the second top quality wine region. Situated in the northwest, it only produces red wines in which the dominant grape is Tempranillo (although here it is called Tinto Fino). This is also where some of Spain's most expensive, iconic wines come from such as Vega Sicilia. Tempranillo is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to produce powerful wines that age beautifully.
Priorat is made in the northeast, and what makes it different is its sparkly black slate & quartz soil called llicorella. Here Garnacha and Carinena are blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot to produce intensely dark and spicy reds - not for the faint hearted but a stunning alternative to Argentinian Malbec or similar.
If you are more of a white wine drinker, the two appellations to look out for are Rueda and Rias Baixas. Rueda's white wines are made mostly from Verdejo (rich, nutty, herby) and sometimes Sauvignon Blanc; whilst Rias Baixas up in Galicia produces stunning whites from the Albarino grape (if you like these, you can also buy Alvarinho from northern Portugal - same grape, very similar climate). All are dry and ridiculously easy drinking.
If you're looking for a bargain, try to spot wines from Jumilla, Navarra, Toro and Valdepenas - all of these are less well known but have had heavy investment in recent years so the quality of their wines is really rather good for the price (especially with the current Euro exchange rate).
NB: One of the big things that confuses people about Spanish wines is their classification system so here's a quick explanation: Joven is sold in the year after the harvest; Crianza is aged for two years (of which at least six months is spent in oak); Reserva means it is aged for three years (of which one year is spent in oak); and a Gran Reserva is aged for five years (of which two years are spent in oak). This is a big of a generalisation, but most producers will actually age their wines for longer and these rules are seen as the minimum amount of ageing their wines should receive. This also means that, unlike wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc, Spanish wines are ready to drink as soon as they are released onto the market.
Happy Swigging!
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