The trailblazers among Spanish wineries share a conviction that a wine's quality and personality are very largely attributable to what goes on in the vineyard, and are therefore turning their attention increasingly to terrain, soil, farming methods, production and, of course, grape varieties. In the 1980s Tempranillo was considered to be the only indigenous variety able to produce wines that could be aged to advantage. Some other minority varieties, such as Graciano, and little-known ones such as Castile's Prieto Picudo, were also considered worthy candidates. However, most wine growing areas, in which varieties like Garnacha (the Ebro Valley), Monastrell (the Levantine Plateau) and Bobal (Valencia) were in plentiful supply, were producing short-lived wines.
This supposed lack of stamina on the part of native varieties led to the notion of reinforcing them by including others with proven qualities: this was when the 'invasion' of Spain by the big name French varieties occurred (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc…). Great wines were produced on the strength of these varieties; they found contributed important strands to Spain's vivid wine tapestry. However, they also carried the danger of loss of individuality.
In the early 1990s Spanish wines shifted direction, and our 'old faithful' varieties had an important role to play in this new style. The whole thing had actually started with white wines back in the 1970s with Castilian variety Verdejo and, a little later, with the discovery of the Galician varieties, especially Albariño, but also with Godello (in DO Valdeorras) and Treixadura (in DO Ribeiro).
The role of the Godello grape in elevating Galicia's status to that of fount of unique white wines, was exemplary. This sensational variety, rescued from the brink of extinction, has acquired an impressive reputation in recent years. By 1974, it was so obviously endangered that the Regulatory Council of DO Valdeorras and other bodies within the region launched a scheme to restructure the vineyards of Valdeorras.
This was when technical experts started to emerge from their bodegas to do research in the countryside, seeking initially to match the style of their wines to the quality parameters imposed by the international marketplace and, later, seeking an antidote to the globalization and uniformity concomitant with having adopted famous-name foreign varieties. Back in the 1980s, and even before, DO Ribera del Duero had laid the foundations of a new style of reds that was to meet with huge commercial success.
They made a convincing new style statement yet, like the Riojas, they too were based on Tempranillo, the variety known in the Ribera region as Tinto Fino or Tinta del País. The success of Ribera's reds was what led DOCa Rioja to update its own. Graciano was re-discovered in the process: this relatively unproductive native variety, with a long growing cycle that makes full ripeness difficult to achieve, provides sound tannins, lively acidity, and intense, stable color as well as distinctive aromatic features. All this qualified it to be the great defensive weapon against Cabernet Sauvignon.
It was into this scenario that Priorato emerged (Spain Gourmetour Nä 55). Powered by René Barbier the newborn Priorato brought with it elements whose importance would prove crucial. Garnacha and Cariñena, supposedly prime examples of the lack of energy exhibited by most of Spain's native variety repertoire in response to the aging process, were by far the most widely-grown varieties in Priorato. The new pioneers came equipped with 'improver' varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (not a success in the role) and the first Syrah plants, among others. The first revelation was the finesse and lusciousness obtained from old Garnacha vines, and then the depth and understated elegance of Cariñena equivalents. DOCa Priorato's example provided a salutary lesson for winemakers throughout Catalonia, especially about red wines.
Research with native varieties is one of their basic tenets, and on the strength of it areas like DO Empordá are being revitalized and others created, like the up-and-coming DO Montsant. But there are also interesting things going on throughout the region, including DO Penedés, DO Costers del Segre, and the occasional new area of interest, like little-known DO Pla de Bages.
Almost simultaneously, in the early 90s, Agapito Rico's winery in Jumilla was just getting going. He would make use of 'improver' varieties, but his true claim to fame is that he was a pioneer in getting the best out of the Monastrell grape. It is by no means an isolated case; there is also plenty going on in nearby areas grouped within the Levantine Plateau. Monastrell country could also be said to include the southern part of DO Valencia. Priorato and Jumilla's new wines exercised a sort of pincer movement which contributed to establishing an increasingly successful- Mediterranean-wine-style.
These are areas where characteristic red variety Bobal holds sway, almost exclusively in Utiel-Requena, slightly less so in Valencia where it co-exists with white varieties, especially Moscatel but also Merseguera, while its southerly part is firmly in Monastrell country. Red Bobal is the most recent of the Levante's widely planted varieties to be revealed in a new light.
There have been remarkable changes everywhere, but in the Ebro Valley the change has been spectacular. There were some parts of this area where vines were the only possible crop. In Aragon the cold, dry, north wind known as el Cierzo does much to cancel out the benefits of the area's scant rainfall. In these conditions, then, no one bothered to uproot old vines planted in the old traditional way on slopes where nothing else could be cultivated.
This formerly reviled variety's desirable qualities having been recognized in the late 1990s and early years of this century, an unexpected treasure trove has come to light in the form of old vines miraculously kept ticking over by the remaining small farmers who had stayed put and carried on supplying their grapes to the cooperatives. These family-scale vineyards have served as a launching pad for DO Campo de Borja, and for DO Cariñena's new reds. Garnacha's reinstatement has resonated even in the avant-garde DO Somontano, one of whose characteristic features is having opted for foreign varieties.
Further up the Ebro, in Navarre, predominant variety Garnacha has also been saved from being completely ousted by foreign varieties in the nick of time. Wineries are starting to achieve good results with it in new reds, outstanding among them Santa Cruz de Artazu, and Gran Feudo Cepas Viejas by Bodegas Julián Chivite.
In Rioja, Garnacha used to be the predominant variety in the Rioja Baja sub-zone and specific areas of the Rioja Alta, such as the Najerilla Valley. In Rioja Baja, too, where Garnacha lost a lot of ground to Tempranillo in the 80s and 90s, it is now playing a leading role in significant new wines. The Martínez Bujanda family pioneered this tendency with an unexpected, ground-breaking Garnacha varietal reserva.
So far this century, innovation has characterized activity in Rioja. Meanwhile, one of the most dramatic phenomena of modern Spanish winemaking has been taking place: the unstoppable rise of DO Toro.
Swept along by the new style invasion of red wines, many bodegas from other areas set themselves up in the traditional Zamoran area of Toro to capitalize on the special qualities of the Tinta de Toro grape, a distinctive strain of Tempranillo adapted to conditions within the area and often grown ungrafted because the local sandy terrain repels phylloxera. The process is being replicated in Leon's DO Bierzo. While what triggered the Toro phenomenon was the arrival of such big names as Bodegas Vega Sicilia and Bodegas Mauro, the significant event in Bierzo was the eruption onto the scene of Álvaro Palacios plus the lower-key contribution of Mariano García (Bodegas Mauro).
The big discovery in Bierzo has been Mencía, a variety characteristic of the Sil Valley that used to go into light wines, generally unsuitable for crianza. The best reds coming out of DO Bierzo today acquired their current features when the new winemakers rescued old vines planted on hillsides in some cases almost 1000 m (3,280 ft) above sea level.
Another highly promising Castilian grape is Prieto Picudo, a variety characteristic of the Páramo Leonés area. This variety was traditionally used for making idiosyncratic, slightly petillant rosés and was therefore considered unlikely to be suitable for reds. This was proved not to be the case a while ago, and it is now turning out to be supremely suitable for making crianza reds.
What the qualities that so many indigenous varieties have been 'discovered' to possess really highlight is how poorly managed vineyards used to be, and for such a long time. The picture has now changed completely, and better-informed, better-equipped technicians and wineries are bringing to light a whole garden of grape varieties and a sensationally nuanced range of wines. And there's plenty more where that came from.
Andrés Proensa is a journalist who specializes in viticulture and viniculture.
