Okay You’re on right you’re definitely Recording yeah i know i can see it yeah Okay brilliant All right excellent welcome everybody um Lovely to see so many of you here Fantastic um it just goes to show Doesn’t it how much we Are excited about rioja and i think now Is a particularly good time to be Excited about it there’s so much going On in the world of rioja I will try and explain some of that to You As i go through this presentation um This evening So just a brief introduction i’ve seen a Lot of familiar names there which is Wonderful lots and lots of new names too And so i’m lauren i work at wct school London Full-time i started there about three Years ago i got my diploma In 2017 and i’m currently a staple Master of wine student As well and one of the reasons i’m doing This webinar on rioja is because i love Love love spain i love All things spain all wines spanish Some of you already know that i have big Big passion for Sherry but also rioja i was very lucky i Did wset Level three rather a while ago now and i
Think some of you here are doing that And i was Fortunate enough to get a scholarship Um from went from my results on for that And so that meant that i got taken Across um it was from the caballeros and The grand order and the cavaliers And i got taken across northern spain by A master of wine angela muir And there were three of us and we did a Two-week tour Starting in galicia finishing in Catalonia um part of that of course was Was dropping into rioja and seeing what Was going on there And um yeah i mean that really um Enhanced my perspective it enhanced my Um my passion for spanish wine and Just um and forevermore i’ve been been Very passionate about about these wines And i’m yeah i’m really looking forward To um Sharing these uh um sharing rioja Uh with you today um so yeah please do Type in some Questions in the chat um lydia who is Co-hosting And she can help answer some questions She obviously knows a lot she’s a master Of wine And um in any that i see i will also do My best but i am kind of doing two Things at once a bit so And if i can’t answer straight away
Please forgive me So we’re going to start with our first Slide If i can do that here we are all right So little brief history of rioja Um it is one of the oldest still Wine regions of spain um And it kind of started in the um In the 18th century there were um lots Of people coming from bilbao down into Rocca And ryoja even and um producing wine There um transport links got easier say They were able to do that From there so that’s kind of the first Time When the wine as we kind of know it to An extent Um was being made there but the quality Of the wine back then wasn’t fantastic Um i can see someone’s drawing on my Powerpoint not to worry Um okay but things started to change a Bit Um in the 1800s so We’ve got um some some there was some Civil war Back then um way back then and some of The aristocracy Were made to move um away from um from Where they were from And a lot of them well a few of them Went to bordeaux they learned a lot About winemaking in bordeaux
And when they came back they um were Using some techniques Um that were being usable they brought Up the level of wine um quite Considerably as well and originally all Wines were at the same price it didn’t Matter what was done to them where the Grapes were from And then that started to change and so Sort of what levels of quality became More More apparent and so you would pay more Better quality Um before that just wasn’t a thing you May actually recognize some of these Names so marcus de murietta marcus de These producers these are current houses Current rioja Um producers bodegas and um And and they were old aristocrats that Came Down and started doing um these new Winemaking techniques and things in Rioja so that changed the face of rioja To an extent Then of course we got philoxory came a Little bit later because we’re further South So it already um done awful things to Bordeaux And actually that meant that there was a Gap in the market in many parts of Europe for a wine And um rioja was very good at filling
That gap But it wasn’t immune itself and Eventually it it Also fell um um it well it got Philosopher as well and so that was a Big problem And it did mean that they weren’t able In spain to Ship over their wines to the american Colonies because that was A big part of their distribution they Were able to sell a lot of their wines Directly Over to the americas and um and that was What really helped rioja in the first Place Um as a kind of a source of income and a Demand and market demand And then when they couldn’t do that when They couldn’t fill that demand that was Very problematic However in the same century um there Were better transport links So with the train station in arrow that Revolutionized things as well So it was possible to get the wines There was a better route to market to Other parts of spain and other parts of Europe Um then in 1926 we’ve got the um And the conservative regular door There’s the regulatory body And that was establishing rocker as one Of the first wine
Regions in spain Um and then with the eu construction the Eu in 1986 that has helped just Generally Improving um as well as it has done all Over spain And in other parts of europe as well So um it’s been a bit of a Fluctuating um turn of events um But now we have um even more things Happening and the future as well is Is also played for within rioja right Now is There’s lots and lots of stuff going on So i’m really excited to talk about that As well as just the general styles And labeling terms that we would expect To see in our wines So where are we so in the In spain so spain is the second most Mountainous country in europe Oh yeah switzerland is the most Mountainous and i think we don’t expect That we don’t think about that when we Go To spain most of us when we go to spain I don’t know about you but i mean i tend To go down to the costa brava i love it Around there Um you know lots of people going down And over the coast of Seoul you know alec canton what these Really really hot Places of course is herrera as well and
You know you don’t look at these places And think that there may Bit bit north we don’t look at them and Think they’re particularly mountainous But In the center of spain it is it’s very Massive so we’ve got the mercita Um going up from madrid there and um You can see we’ve got these mountainous Areas here right place to where Is um and we’ve also got this Atlantic influence as well we’re not too Far from the coast you know if you go to San sebastian you know you may as well Spend a few more hours traveling and Pop down to rioja as well and then you Know As we are going sort of south east um We are facing that coming towards the Mediterranean so there’s a hint of that Mediterranean influence there As well but we are primarily in the North of spain you it’s not the hottest Part of spain It’s a moderate climate um really with Sometimes You know bit bit more warmth in some Areas than others and i can focus on That In just a bit okay you can see what some Of the wonderful other famous And well-known wine regions you know We’re just across the border from navara There navarro they make similar styles
But also a lot of rose and maybe a few More international grape varieties like Cabinet sauvignon there You know we’re not million miles from Robert aduero also using tempranillo Grapes they’re a lot Um slightly different because it’s a bit Higher up generally it’s kind of a A continental plateau they’re a bit Different but you may have heard of toro Of course we’ve got really spacious over Here alvarinio lands And it’s very hot parts in la mancha Um and um you know kind of lots of Monastrel coming from around here and Then catalonia of course Carver land you know spain is wonderful For the diversity and let’s not forget Herith there we are down there Um okay so um let’s have a look at the Sub region so Zooming in now to rioja we’ve got Three sub regions and these are going to Become more important we’ll talk about Those Later on as well because we have Um that even it doesn’t look like the Largest area here so we’ve got Most plantings going on in the rioja Altar um Followed pretty closely by the rocker Baha now ignore baja here In fact i don’t want that word to be There i want another way to be they want
Oriental to be there because that’s what It’s now being referred to And i’ll explain why that is in just a Moment and then we’ve got this third Smaller region which is very much in the Basque country Um in the alava and this is rioja Um and actually you can see that some of Riyadh does overlap there in tunamara Um so a little bit about each of these Subregions Okay so um we’ll start with raja alta Sorry i’ll get outside That means alta means hi okay um so We’ve got the ebro running through um Okay and we can see that lagurano Is the is the main town here so we’re Over to the um The west of la rano mainly um it is Quite warm in some parts of rock island Particularly closer to the river where It’s a bit lower down But it can get up to 700 meters and it Has a lot of Alluvial soils down by the river and Then it’s got more sort of clay soils Um and some limestone um on the um on The more sloppy Um mountainous parts um If we go down here now so we’ve got Oriantal um Now it used to be called baja because it Was down River okay but the word baja it means
Love In spanish so now these terms are going To be seen more on labels of rioja You don’t really want to see the word Low um because it could It could give you the impression of low Quality and that’s not the case Whatsoever so it’s rather oriental Um and it is though it is lower down Altitude wise Um it is around around 200 meters or so Less Generally although parts of it can get Quite high but there’s not that much of It that’s so high And so it’s a hotter part of rioja it’s Also you’ve got a bit more of that Mediterranean influence as opposed To the alta and alabasa which are closer To the atlantic Um so we’re going to see that different Grape varieties are grown In the real oriental formerly known as And then we’ve got the alabasta and the Alabasa is Um similar in in some ways regardless Similar in terms of altitude it is Smaller Um it is a bit a little bit cooler and Wetter Generally overall and lots of uh sort of Limestone clay soils there as well Um okay so we’ll remember those names Because they
Will become important when we look at Some of the newer labeling terms that We’re going to see Um but overall we’ve got 64 000 hectares Under vine it’s a hundred kilometers Um roughly um from From east to west and it’s a and the Widest part is around 40 kilometers Okay so um you know it’s not as it’s not The smallest area region in the world Okay so um we’ll have a look at some of These grape varieties Um now there’s loads of great varieties That are actually Um permitted lots and they’ve introduced More um in the past few years Um so i’m just going to go through Some of the main great varieties and Some are more important Than others now tempranillo is planted By Far the most planted great variety Um in terms of the amount of plantings Of black grape varieties it makes up Around 88 so that’s substantial So you’ll see a lot of tempranillo in The rioja alabasa and the Altar um you’ll see more ghanaian Oriental because it’s a warmer climate And garnach as a great variety really Needs to be grown In hotter climates it doesn’t like it if It’s not warm enough
Um so tempranillo has a great variety Well it’s interesting because I it’s difficult to say with tempranillo Because if it’s grown in so many Different places it’s made into so many Different styles of wine so exactly Tempranillo will give you a wine that is Like this this this this On the whole um it doesn’t tend to have The highest level of acidity But that can depend on where it’s grown Fruit wise You’re more you can get red fruit and You can get black fruit i would say when It’s younger when you have younger wines You’re probably more likely to get red Fruit i mean you might get hints of Black fruit in more concentrated wines That maybe are for longer aging In terms of tannins again that can vary Winemaking techniques Can mean that you get more or less Tannin from your tempranillo And also in rioja it’s blended often so You’re going to get Other great varieties in the blend that Are going to um Affect the levels of tannins that you Get the levels of acidity you get the Body And the alcohol in your wine um So yeah tempranillo it’s um It’s a bit versatile really and it you Can make it you can get very different
Wines But maybe tempranillo really depends Where the grapes are grown um The wine making techniques applied and Then of course if there are other wine Other great varieties that are in the Blend there So talking about garnacha now garnacha Is a thin stint skinned grape variety it Gets quite Big and it accumulates a lot of sugar And so it gives a lot of alcohol to Wines It’s red fruit very much red fruit Little bit of sort of white pepper spice As well and um it’s a nice blending Um partner for tempranillo because it Does give it that kind of roundness And a little bit of weight um to the Wines so Um yeah a lot quite as i said but eight Percent garnacha Grown um graciano now graciano um a Student told me this recently they said Gracia it means graciano because it Gives grace to tempranillo i don’t know If that’s true or not but It kind of does um it’s harder to grow Than the other great varieties it Doesn’t ripen quite as easily Um but when it does um it really adds a Lovely element to the wines Um it will give more of a floral note It’s got lots of tannin it’s got lots of
Acidity it’s got black fruit it’s a Really great supporting great variety Um so you will find graciano often Blended with the top top Um rioja wines it’s um it’s a bit like If you know much about bordeaux Particularly on the left bank it’s a bit Like the petty verdo Of bordeaux so that’s um There are three of our main great Varieties we’ve got mazuelo now mazzuelo Is what they call it in Riyadh but it’s also known as carraniana In other parts of spain or carignon Which is what it’s called in france and Again that can add some structure but We’re looking at Less than two percent of the of the Plantings and for our black grapes So that um again gives black fruit Um good levels of acidity um Good structure tannins as well there too Um matriarana tinter tiny tiny tiny Amounts and in fact There’s lots of different kinds of Maturana tinter it got a little bit Confused when it was planted Um so they’ve just kind of given it the Umbrella name so i can’t really say Exactly what matarana tinted is like but It is um and one of the other grapes That you might get blended and what There is now permitted Cabernet sauvignon sauvignon is
Permitted as a great variety but you Won’t see a lot of producers using that Um they just added a few more to the List they can say irregular door And for our white wines um viewer is our Main grape variety Otherwise known as macabre from um That’s what they call it in catalonia Um tempranillo blanco is one of the more Notable other white grape varieties that Go into the white wines of rioja And again they’ve allowed international Varieties such as sauvignon blanc And verdejo even though that’s not an International work variety that is a Great variety that has Now been added to the list um mal vazir There’s various various other great Varieties but by far the most planted Is vira so um yeah lots of permitted Great varieties there Um but some definitely more important And more grown than Others okay and just on that point if we Have a look at this picture actually Um you can see this gnarly old vine here Um And there’s uh quite stony soil so the Topography is is very very different and That’s um all over rioja and that’s Going to be something to think about a Bit later when We took look at the future of very often The future of the labeling terms and the
Way the wines Um are sold a bit um but there are some Bush vines So these kind of old bush vines um not Trellised at all A bit like this one here um but also There are Areas where they’ve got like the Vertical sheet positioning and trellis It really depends And often with garnacha the best way to Grow it because it grows and errors Is um bush vines as well and helps Protect it from from hot sun And where there are areas where it is a Bit hotter Okay um right let’s go to the next slide If i can there we go All right so it’s very much red wine but There is great diversity Okay so we’ve got 91 percent of Plantings are of I say red breakfast which is black grape Varieties actually Um so those black grape varieties aren’t Just going to make red wine With there are some rose a there as well Um rose that is still and rose that is Sparkling Um but yeah very much the focus for Ariana is on red wine Um there are some white wine someone Emailed me with a question earlier about The reputation of white wine so we can
Maybe discuss that a bit later Um of course it’s not the priority in Rioja really To be making white wine when you think Of how many black grapes are being grown But um in terms of white wines there’s Very there’s lots of different styles You get very easy drinking Um fresh fruity styles they’re fresher And fruitier nowadays than they used to Be Um but you’ve also got some that can be Aged for such a long long time and There’s now a new um A slightly new um term rioja blanco Where you can use a hundred percent of One great variety So it’s just a varietal white wine so Then maybe they’re doing that with Sauvignon blanc for example um a few new Things are happening which will come Clear As i go on with this presentation So um rose yeah rose some of the best Roses um are coming from rioja in in Spain We’ve got rose from navara just across The river hebrew there Um but what some wonderful roses and Only recently Have they been allowed to make them Paler i wonder why that is Any ideas anyone um but um There are also some very dark ones and
You can get really aged ones It’s so rare around the world to see Oaked rose wines so it’s very exciting When you can get your hands on an Older rose from rioja which has seen Some oak And i think some of you are are tasting The lopez de heredia wines they do some Older roses and They’re incredible unlike anything else You will ever drink i think in my Personal opinion So sparkling wine um they are actually Permitted to make carver Even though most of it is produced in um In penades and catalunya but they are Alive mccarver However um i you know it’s quite Political isn’t it going what’s going on We’ve got the basque region to the north We’ve got catalonia over to the East um and we’ve got all this um Political stuff about um understandably You know And so sort of finding independence And um and having identity so in rioja There is now a movement towards an Identity of their own within their Sparkling wines Which i’ll touch on um on the next slide Okay and here we go i’ve got a nice Photo here i i A lot of these photos i took when i was On my trip a while ago
And i’m not 100 sure where i am there Um but you can see the mountains can’t You i mean you’ve got In in rioja and to the north you’ve got The sierra de cata Cantabria um which helps to actually Shelter it From the atlantic a bit and then and Further south and you’ve got the sierra De la And demander so all you’ve got mountains All around And you’ve got this um varying altitudes It’s a stunning stunning place to go you Know and Looks good the wine’s good and you’re Not a millionaire miles from san Sebastian And you know you’re yeah you pick us Pic pictures uh pinchos that’s it Um if you go into the basket uh elevator Then you um Got all of that as well so lovely right So still and sparkling so i’ve got lots Of still wines but let’s just talk a Little bit about sparkling wine Not for very long because there’s not a Lot of it and it’s not really about Sparkling wine in this region but i Thought this would be quite interesting For you to know so of course we’ve got The carver But there’s now been um a new category Introduced
And the espoo mustache so that would be Sparkling de calidab quality of quality From rioja Now i wonder what market or what other Sparkling wine they’re thinking about When they implemented the rules for the Lis aging If you know anything about well i think You know anything if you have studied Maybe Level three or doing diploma you may Know a little bit About the legal requirements for certain Regions of the world For having your wine aging on the lease And you can see we have a few Similarities Okay so what we’ve got here is we’ve got 15 months Lease minimum aging so if you’re going To make an espermosos de Cali then it has to have 15 months lee’s Aging minimum Now in champaign it’s 12 months okay So that’s even more stringent even Stricter rules And if you’re going to have reserver on The label and we’re going to talk about These labeling terms in a bit This is slightly different to the other Reservoir you might be thinking of Um we’ve got 24 months on the lease There Okay and then with your grananiada so
Lots of years basically we’ve got 36 Months 36 months that’s the same minimum Requirement for a vintage Champagne um so here we are so this is One of the producers i went to i think This is bilbonas Um and we can see that they’re using the A-frames Here so this is uh where they’re storing Their sparkling wines while they’re on The lease and at this point i think this May have been For carver or just their um the more Basic basic and rioja sparkling wines And how are we doing with the chat let Me see if how lydia’s Um coping or and if there’s anything i Can quickly answer Um oh yeah so yeah exactly when i’ll Talk about the roses yeah complete with Provence Um i believe so with the pale um the Oxidative style in white rioja I will in a minute um amielle and that’s A good question um and jonathan is Saying Um oh hang on a minute Yeah so yeah so just come back quickly To that the pale roses That have been allowed now um yeah i Think we’re looking at a market thing Here aren’t we With people expecting those pales that’s
Very fashionable from Um question alison are the roses from Navara sweet or dry dry Um mainly um oh sorry And let me see what else we’ve got in Fact if i make this bigger Okay um yeah exactly dennis um We are looking at um you’ve said that Champagne is is somewhere that maybe They are thinking about Um looking at the market there with Regards to maybe Competing who knows it’s a difficult one Um it is expensive and like you Mentioned it is expensive to have that Time on the lease so it’ll be Interesting to see how that works out For rioja producers And which grapes are required in the Carvers very good question in fact it’s Slightly different for carver in rioja Than it is from Um catalunya so viera and chardonnay Um are the main great varieties um how Soon after the vintage should you be Drinking Um your um the older carvers Well i don’t know really it depends on The producer depends on the style i Imagine the older it is probably the Longer you can keep it for Um any restrictions on the liquor Detourage or the liquid expeditionary Sparkling words
I really don’t know actually um so Jonathan’s asked about restrictions on Liquor deterioration they had expedition So liquor did hirage is when you add the Sugar and the yeast to start the second Fermentation And the liquid expedition is when you Add dosage ah There is actually yep jonathan um you’re Not allowed to make it any Sweeter than brew i believe so you can Have brute nature Um extra brew and brew and so these are Dry styles Of of ryoka wines dennis how much are They selling for on average i don’t know I haven’t yet had them they’re quite new Um jim that That picture yes they are hand riddling But they probably aren’t Riddling all of them um that would just Be one of the maybe they’re trying Doing a bit of experimentation most of The time so if you saw the picture we Had all the bottles Stacked um that they don’t normally do That But that has that that’s the old way of Doing it before machinery was invented Um in the 70s and 80s to make things a Lot easier um Are there requirements for reserve and Grant and yada also for leaves aging or Just maturation in bottle
So that’s the lease aging okay so it’s Your 24 Months your 36 months lee’s aging and Then maturing in bottle Well that’s up to uh up to you once You’ve bought those wines if you want to Keep them And some may keep for some may um i Would say they’re older The more time they’ve had on leaves Probably the longer you could keep them For to mature in bottle And then they’ll get a bit more um a bit More complex Um okay um I will type stuff in at the end um for For any thin i don’t have any specific Vineyards in mind but um i couldn’t i Can I’ll anything i need to type i’ll do at The end if that’s all right Um grammarly audits requirement only for Vintages or can you have a grand another Non-vintage good question I’m not 100 sure the answer that Patricia i’ll have to look that Up okay um Yeah you will be up we will make sure You can access this recording Michael um okay Oh lynn said so okay great and jose is There rose carver Um i believe there is rose carver um i Would think that for the rose carver
That they would Use i think tempranillo and garnacha Um okay um oate rosado in the market Outside of Spain renata’s asking for do you know What i have had One oat um rose outside of spain and it Was a montepulciano de brutstown Okay um i’m going to talk a bit about as Well um Leaving um not using using different Labeling terms as well for the For these still wines um rahul said does Maturation in bottle change the alcohol Content Um no um because um and it doesn’t Happen in barrels in barrels because you You may well get a little bit of Evaporation depending on humidity Depending on the conditions You may and that may vary a tiny bit but You top up barrels so it doesn’t happen That often And in bottle the alcohol content will Stay exactly the same because glass is Completely airtight Um okay so Trepa is using rose carving yes trapat Is using rose carver In catalonia i’m not 100 sure what they Use for the roseanne carvers Heather in rioja it may be the same Um i’m not 100 sure there Um okay and i think lydia’s on top of
The questions Now so um that’s wonderful and yeah i Mean you can make some comparisons with What’s going on in carved with the roses Absolutely Um and rosie carver from um catalonia They can use pinot noir yeah um that’s Absolutely right Okay so let’s have a look now Um at the other class The classification so i’ve mentioned a Few classification systems for sparkling Wine but we’ve got classification Systems That i’m sure you have seen on bottles That you have Um tasted yourself and um these are the Um what what you should be used to Seeing but Um you don’t have to make wines that are Going to be Um a crayon that reserve a gram reserva So Here we go um now generic or hoven so This is like our younger wines Most of the time um we’ll have a green Label Okay now for this there is no oak Aging or um or bottle aging requirement For these wines Okay now um interestingly i think it’s Around 40 percent Of rioja wines and have these labeling Terms
Okay the grammars over there’s over Korean so there’s a lot that don’t Um so that’s because a lot of them are Young and um Fruity youthful and easy to drink Entry-level wines okay so if you’ve got A green label on the back of your rioja Then most of the time that’s going to Equate to something that is Um should be fairly inexpensive nice And fruity okay however If you’re a moroccan producer and you do Not want to Um do what the consejo regular door are Telling you to do to make your winer Creamper or reservoir or gram reservoir And i’ll tell you what you have to do To make wines um with those labeling Terms if you decide you don’t want to do That Then you will have to again use this Generic label so the green label on the Back So there are some producers who decided Not to do that say they’ve you know do A tour so they’re widely kind of outside Winemakers are referring to themselves This is in the 90s Um and they um they decided to do things A little bit differently a lot of these Were based in the miraculosa in the Basque Country so you know no surprises there And
Um and but there’s been some wonderful Wonderful wives there are some wonderful Ones coming from Um well all over rioja where they’ve Decided to do things a little bit Differently and we’ll see why Because if you make a korean fur wine Then you have to Age your wine in oak four and this is For Red wines i’m talking about red wines It’s slightly different for white and For rose okay So you have to ate your wine in oak for A year And overall two years okay So you would if we were if i went to the Shops now it would be impossible for me To buy a korean for 2019. Okay um now Um oh thank you adella for that point You just said that young normally are Carbonic maceration Um i will talk about that in fact i Meant to talk about that so I’m going to come back to that so for Those of you that don’t know what Carbonic maceration is carbonic Maceration is a way of making a wine Really fruity and less tannic okay so if You had a beaujolais Wine just a basic beaujolais you’ll get This kind of slightly bubble gummy Banana character very fruity low tannins
You can chill them really easy to drink And yeah they do do that they would say They don’t do full carbonic maceration They do some semi carbonic maceration And this would be for the reds okay it Only applies for red wines Um so yeah a lot of very very fruity Wines that have seen Some um some form of carbonic maceration In that generic Level when we get to korean though That’s generally not what you do The aim here is to have a wine where You’ve got a bit more complexity Still pretty easy drinking the spanish Love korean food it’s their favorite Level of rioja and i tell you what i Think they’ve got great taste because i Love a grandfather as well i think it’s A really good Go-to wine if you want to have if you’re Having a meal And you want something that you know It’s just you just It’s an everyday everyday kind of wine But it’s got a bit of oak it’s got a bit More going on Um and i’d love a bit of oak in my wines So um So that’s that’s brilliant um Okay so agriampha you’d expect to have Still fairly youthful um but not as Useful as as A lot of your generic wine so you’re
Correct for now we’re looking at A little bit of oak spice probably more Red fruit than black fruit here Um medium-ish tannins um But medium-bodied most the time um Lovely okay um just had a question from Um mine about roblay the um labeling Term robbery now the Lavington roblox simply means oak i Haven’t seen it a lot In rioja although i’ve seen it quite a Lot in roberto duero It just means there’s been a little bit Um of oak On um on the wine but not enough to make It a cramper So that hopefully answers your question And meanie Peter is the term um generic a place a Replacement for hobbin Well i think there was a problem with The word hoben Um because if you’re saying hobbin is Linked to this label It’s not entirely and hobbin is not a Labeling term You don’t see the word hobbin on a Bottle of wine usually Um so it really means it doesn’t hit the Requirement to be create for reservoir Gram reservoir Um maybe generic is not the best word Either Um so kelsey i did
I said that um one year is a minimum Requirement In oak and then two years overall aging So yeah it could be a year in bottle it Could be two years in oak But it’s two years overall with a Minimum year in oak Um jonathan you said roberto did where Roman i attended the other day again the Impression that roblay would be Coming in as a legal term in due course I’ve seen it on bottles so i i don’t Know To be honest um all i know is i’ve seen It on some label bottles of wine Relatively inexpensive wine often and um Yeah then they’ve i’ve seen that they’ve Had a bit of oak on them and that’s That’s what i’ve been told um when i was In in roberto a while ago But you know what what’s the fascinating Thing about spain is things are changing All the time um Okay um so with our reserve now um Reserva we’ve got more time now um Overall aging okay so the time in oak The minimum requirement Is the same as coriander but usually More Most producers will do more and that’s One one year again but three years Overall aging now remember this is for Red wines For white wines and roses it’s less
Generally Okay um now what i need to Be very specific about it might think Well okay i’m a producer and i’m doing The minimum requirements But why am i i’m choosing to use the the Green labeling term Well because as well as having these Minimum requirements you have to use 225 litre barriques to aid your wines in Um these are the bordeaux size berry They originally that’s you know where They got the inspiration from And so if you and i’ll show you a photo And on a coming up A slide that’s coming up and you’ll see That uh um not all producers In the world like to be told that they Have to age their wine in 225 litre Berries So that’s where you might find a Producer saying actually in fact i got a Quote directly from a producer mariaka Saying That they preferred the oak integration With the wine when they used barrels That were 500 liters So they made their wines in 500 litres Barrels Therefore they were not able to put Crayons or reservoir On their label or even grand reserva So um that’s our reserve so with the Reserve wine now i’m expecting there to
Be more intensity just overall We’ve got more red food bit more black Fruit here now Um we’ve got more oak generally you Would see more over probably more new Oak is being used as well and i’m going To talk about oak a bit more in in a bit And um i’d expect to be starting to get Some tertiary characteristics as well as Like vanilla And cedar and smoke from the oak and Lovely Um characteristics from the grapes as Well maybe graciano in here so we’ve got That kind of More perfumed black fruit and some red Fruit Um we are now looking at tertiary so Dried fruit characteristics a little bit Leathery Earthy um all of that kind of stuff Going on and so these are starting to Get a bit more complex Now um and these these are stunning Wines and Price wise you know when we talk about Riyaka we’re talking about A place that is making wine that they’re Aging They’re aging their pre-emperors they’re Aging their reserves they’re aiding Their grand reserves they know the Quality they’ve got Wonderful quality here they can age
These wines Um so that’s what we’ve got for a Reserva and um we In the um in the uk we Love a reserva um we really really do So just a brief um recap of the size of The barrels 225 liter okay and we refer to that size As a barrique Often it’s just it’s a 225 liter barrel I will show you some on the next slide And that is the requirement if you’re Going to make a coriantha a reserver a Gram reservoir Wine in rioja not sparkling um That is the barrel requirement although Some producers Like to use bigger barrels but then they Can’t use that terminology Okay um nick you drink rioja reserva Every day Brilliant all right So um grand reserves and at ground Reserve we’re getting really serious Here Okay we have got um We have got a lot of time in oak now Um okay so we are looking at um A minimum now of two years and like five Years aging Overall um and these are the minimum Requirements so let me stress that these Are the minimum requirements Most producers will do more than that
Um okay um but then again of course There is different quality within all of These you know if you go to the shops And you’ve got your shelf there and You’ve got a grand reservoir there For 15 quid and you’ve got a grammars Over there for 45 quid There’ll be a reason why they’re Different they’re priced differently and That won’t just be marketing Okay um you know there are different Qualities within These um within these categories which Is what is quite controversial about Rioja which is why i’ll talk about these Other labeling terms in a bit Because even though this dictates the Size of the yolk And the amount of time in oath and Amount of time in bottle It doesn’t dictate the quality of the Grapes Okay and so that is something to bear in Mind so you there will be producers out There who have really top reputations or There’ll be particular wines from Particular producers That have really top reputations as well Um so let’s just have a look someone’s Asked about the Labeling colors yes they are right So here we go creamfir will have this Kind of Red sort of scarlet red color on the
Back of the of the bottle Um reserva will have more of this kind Of um Burgundy maroon red color and then gram Reserva Has got a blue okay now um With our gram reserva now because we’ve Got more time in oak and we’ve got more Time overall aging We can expect a wine that’s incredibly Complex they won’t necessarily make a Grand reserva wine Every year and these wines will have A lot more of those tertiary bottle Mature character um In in them so you’re going to expect More dried fruit more earthy Leathery forest floor and Characteristics Um and you know lots and sort of that Kind of fig Prune stuff going on also oak and it Might be at this point that you’ve got a Wine that you don’t need to Age any longer in fact that’s what one Of the wonderful things about riyadh Is that they’ve done the aging for you If a wine has been released from rioja They’re telling you you can drink it now It’s going to be great You can possibly keep it as well some Producers will release them earlier you Can keep them Some producers and will release them you
Know really at the point where This is it now drinking time um So karen deep has asked can we expect a Heavily oaked wine with a generic label You could do you absolutely could do um But what you will probably see what i Would do with one of these Wines which i’ve labeled as generic Really here i’m kind of talking about The the young ones okay what was known As hobbin But um if you do have a green label on The back If it’s pretty costly and it’s still got A vintage on it that’s quite a bit older I’d expect there’s probably been quite a Bit of winemaking going on and there’ll Be great grapes Okay um and someone is sharing some Um great websites i think so thank you Jonathan um okay yeah i mean i don’t Really have time to type in all of my Favorite producers right now Um but those of you that have got some Favorite producers feel please feel free Um to type them in as well and i think We will see quite a few of the lopez de Radio vineyard tondonia’s etc they’re Very classic Um very traditional styles And going to a tardy thank you miguel Who is a very A more a more modern style one of the Pioneers of the new labeling terms that
We’re going to see Okay um yes seeing some great um Some great producers here thank you for Sharing those All right so um i’m going to move on to The next slide feel free to keep Adding your your questions oh adela i See you’re going for bagori there i Visited by glory it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen in terms of a winery So incredible and technological um Okay right so next slide um Right so oak and other wine making so I’ve talked about quite a bit i just Want to emphasize a little more about it Really And so you’re asking about the wine Barrel sizes and here we go Um so this is from bill bernes um which Is based in rovalta Um in the town of arrow um and the call Will bonus because The um the people that started the Winery room from um bilbao And you can see lots and lots of these Berries okay These look particularly new to me um So now i was just about to come on to That alex you’re asking about French oak uh more commonplace than American in rio grande So yes um it’s looking that way so American i Particularly with the links to the
Colonies getting the um the americas And getting that over from there was not A problem and you’ll see a lot of Traditional places Hereth american oak is used but Definitely there’s been much more of a Move towards french oak So what’s the difference the price okay American oak is cheaper than french oak So why are people spending more who Knows it’s More to do with style um and the fact is With french oak um you can be very Tightly grained And maybe got less of an oxidative style Coming through Um with french oak um french oak um Well let’s say american oak with American i can get coconut Characteristics like dill character very Very vanilla-y Um you still get vanilla and cloves and Sweet spices with french oak and maybe Not quite as overtly vanilla-y Um but yeah there’s definitely a move Towards almost slightly less Oxidized style and the use of french oak But um there’s still lots of producers Being very traditional With more oxidative styles and you Mentioned before someone asked about the Oxidative styles of white wines So a lot of the white wines sit in that More generic
Category fresh easy drinking young Fruity inexpensive but there are some Producers who are making some very Very heavily oxidized and white wines Um lopez de herodia again that’s Probably the best example i can give you Is the one i’ve tasted the most of Definitely in that style Although actually marques de marieta do One as well Um castillo um egay now They um those wines are meant for bottle Aging so they’ve had a bit of oxidative Aging in the oak And then they develop over time and they Become quite golden in color And they get these kind of nutty Characteristics um And really dried fruit honeyed Stunning stunning wines um i’ve heard That they have been Um voted very highly when it comes to Cheese and wine pairings because of the Nuttiness that you Get from these wines really really Brilliant um Okay so a few questions does the harvest Determine if that vintage Is going to be hoven reserve etc um not So much the harvest There is vintage variation of course but Having that proximity will offer to the Um The atlantic you are going to get
Vintage variation and they do classify Their vintages going from like good to Amazing Um i think what they mean is not so good Too amazing um but Um so they do classify their vintages But there isn’t You know in terms of vintage variation It exists but i wouldn’t say It’s as extreme as in some other parts Of europe And what they will do is they’ll have Certain vineyards generally That they would um have certain grapes Would go into either your coriander Reserve a gram reserva or the Um the younger ones um definitely They’ll make that they’ll pick the Grapes Um and they’ll make sure that they are The quality that they need to be To go into the right category because You need better quality grapes As you go up that pyramid because you Need to them to have the structure to Age For such a long time okay Um so i’m just here i just wanted to Show you that we’ve got bigger oak Obviously here And so we might expect that the hobbin Or the generic wines could be Aged in these or in stainless steel Okay so that’s because that’s the photo
I had from my bank of rioja Photos there um [Music] Okay i mean it’s not just french And american oak as well they are you Know using Oak from croatia slovenia all over the Place Um i’m just going back to winemaking And i’ve got a little a little photo Here of someone Um punching down see that plate there And so They’re punching down this is getting Some extraction so this is what we’re Probably looking at A wine that’s going to be um Potentially a um a grand reservoir Or a reservoir lydia you’re doing a Great job answering the questions thank You takes Quite a bit of pressure off me to think Earlier i said i’ll be fine lydia you Don’t need to Um answer any questions and can you Imagine um Right and so yeah so there’s the oakley Very important The size of oak important for the um the Classifications For the legal requirements for certain Labeling terms As well and of course um i didn’t talk About the aging for
White and rose a um but the um minimum Oak aging for white and rose wines is Six months across the board and then Longer in bottle But of course um you Would um but for those um for those Wines Um as you get to the reserve or grand Reserve you have more time in bottle So come on what do you say punching down Means grand razor that was just a Comment what i’m seeing here is they’re Trying to punching down And pumping over um is a way of Extracting tannins and color And if you want to extract a lot of Tannins in color often your aim is to The tannins will give structure to a Wine and if you’re doing sort of Extensive extraction And then you’re probably looking to make A wine that’s going to age for a long Time Possibly whereas with our more generic Red wines We’re looking for um we were doing that Carbonic maceration mentioned before Which is trying not to extract so much Turn in Okay it’s just some wine making Techniques um So red and white on the label yes so if You have a white rioja that is a Choreographer it will have the same
Labeling term but the time in oak Will be less probably Okay because it’s not really the style And we’ve got tannins and if you’ve got Tannins in wines they suit oak really Well oak softens tannins so longer Time in oak softens those tannins but Turning don’t do give structure So lots of things to consider you can Take in as much of this as you want Um i don’t expect you to remember Everything i just want to give you a Good Overview and a bit of an understanding Of the region and just all of the stuff That they’re doing because there’s so Much going on Um okay so here we go so we’ve got some Wine labor in terms of some recent Changes Very recent changes you know these Changes were agreed in 2017 they were Published in 2018 And we are going to start seeing the First of these wines In the this year um which is very very Exciting Um and someone mentioned the producer Atari earlier from the alabasa Um you know we had groups of producers In the 90s who really didn’t want to be Labeling their wines To rioja if you get a bottle of rioja Now it will just have just
Rioja written on it that doesn’t give You any clue As to where abouts in rioja the wine is Made now traditionally They did blend across the whole region Because you had some tempranillo here Had some ganache here And blending can do wonderful wonderful Things It can give you um it can give Complexity And it can give consistency um it can Give balance To wines you know i’m all for blend so Let’s look at the southern rhone that’s Brilliant you know bordeaux we’ve got Blends But then on the other hand we’ve got Areas regions Like burgundy where it’s you know the Most expensive most prestigious Ones from one single vineyard okay so You know these are wines that are Championed world-class wines So there’s arguments for both so you’ve Got some producers who will blend across The whole region And you’ve got some producers um who are More Inclined they their idea and their wine Making what they want is more of an Expression of their terroir So i’m just going to so i’m going to Talk about what these terms mean
Just one second just had a question from Tony aryaka red’s mainly fermented in Barrel No that was just one picture um You know you can ferment in stainless Steel and you can ferment in barrel most Of the time when you ferment red whites If they ferment in stainless steel But that was just a big old oak barrel There Um oh i’m really glad that we’re getting Some Some lovely recommendations still of Some wonderful whites here Um so i’m going to talk a little bit About these recent changes and these Labeling terms that we will see We haven’t seen them yet because it only Just really started 2018 and These wines we would expect all of these Ones to have some significant time in Oak or at least Um in bottle so they won’t quite be on The shelves yet I was seeing um looking back at some Emails and stuff Recently and they said oh when this year At provine Um you were going to get to taste the First of these unfortunately with the Times we’re in now that’s not possible But Hopefully they will be reaching the Shelves and our homes
In the not too distant future um so Start with vino de zona now vino de zona Um Vino de zona that is your zone and we Saw those zones Though zones Oriental so if you are growing your Grapes in that zone Okay um and okay you’re allowed to grow A few of them just outside but only up To 15 In the neighboring zone so you grow your Grapes in that zone Then you can label the name of the zone On the bottle So that’s going to give some and maybe For some producers they’ll feel that That will give their wine a bit more Identity so if they are just making That they’re growing their grapes and um They’re getting they’re making their Wines From the rioja outside they can just put Alta um On the label not to be confused with the Producer la rioja alta Okay um so um that’s and that’s our vino Um And we’ve got with now with this we’re Following a kind of a burgundian Thing now because we’re going vino de Municipio Is similar-ish to our communes or our Villages in burgundy so like you know
Your mercer or your jeffree chamber town Uh for example though hopefully not as Expensive Um and so you’ve got to grow those Grapes in that Municipality um and when there’s 145 Municipalities i don’t really know Any of them um and so i’m looking Forward to learning about which Municipalities are going to be the General chamber town Of rioja it’s going to be very Interesting to find out and at the Moment um Rioja also has 77 of these Municipalities Um ryoka oriental has 50 And ryoka alabesa has 18 and so Lots to learn um it’s gonna make the Diploma really hard Um maybe it won’t i i hope not um it’s Already quite difficult So um here we’ve got again um you can Grow a little bit outside that Municipality just 15 Rule applies again um but the wines do Have to be made in that municipality so It’s a little bit unlike in burgundy Where actually you can make the wine Outside the grapes have to come from the Village or the commune but you can make The wine outside but not so For the vinod amin incipios um Now and the vignette singular i mean
These are this is happening already so No this is not a new Thing it’s just these are now going to Be labeling terms That you can use i mean our tardy we’ve Been making single vineyard rides For a long time and they are not cheap Um [Music] But um the vignette singular well that’s Your single vineyard Um now they’re a bit stricter rules here So You know we’re going to have to work out Which of these vineyards are producing These wonderful wonderful Grapes to make these top top riojas in The first place um But they definitely are going to have to Have some old vines um because the Vineyards have to be minimum of 35 years Old and anyone making these wines as Well has had to have been Um you know making wine for 10 years Anyway Need to know what they’re doing can’t Just come in and decide that they’re Going to make a Single vineyard wine that would just be Uh nonsense You can’t do that um and and the yields Are Even lower okay for these and single Vineyard wise i think about 20
Lower than the average yield i’m not Sure about that hand harvesting is a Must Okay um and um there’s gonna be lots of Checks Checks are gonna do lots of um chemical Checks to make sure they are these wines Of say Are from where they say they are um and Also Um they’re going to be um not you know Tasting checks of scientific checks but Also tasted by panels as well to make Sure they’re up to scratch So some very very um stringent rules Will apply So what is going to happen i mean it’s Going to be really interesting to see When these take off to see Um if within this um these using these Labeling terms Are they still going to be making Reservoir ground reservoir wines And what exactly are we going to see on The labels We will we will see the name of the Single vineyards of course and which And i should think which municipality That’s um that’s linked to And probably the zone as well but it’s Going to be so exciting to see what Happens Um what might not be so favorable for me But i think good for spain in general
Is the prices will probably go up you Know if you’re getting these exclusive Single vineyard rioja ones and we offer Is Great as we’re here because we want to Know more about rioja because we love Rocha so i’m preaching to the converted But um you know we’re going to be seeing Some Incredible wines they exist already but They’re just The the exposure isn’t there so Hopefully this will help to increase Exposure to some of the incredibly Incredibly fine wines Um that’s not to say that you can’t get Really really fantastic wines That are blended from across the regions As well Um okay so there’s a bit of discussion Here about rose And riojas and where can you get them From they’re not as easy because there’s Not so much of them is Made but thank you so you can get some From majestic can you Good to know i tend to buy my spanish Wines when i’m down in spain It’s cheaper and there’s more of them um Dennis good point he said that he hopes It won’t be as messy as in santa million Yeah you know There’s been lots of problems um in in Bordeaux with
Um promoting places and then demoting Places To be very careful you know really Strict if you’re going to give A municipality um you know a certain Prestige because it’s one of the ones That’s allowed to be labeled It can’t go down in quality can it um It’s going to be uh Um yeah i mean it takes a long time to Get these things Um started i mean it’s a very Traditional place for her Very traditional place it’s been around For a long long time This is this is a big thing that’s Happening right now you know this is not To be underestimated Moving to um to these labeling terms and To this way of doing things it’s not Something that’s traditionally been done So it’s incredibly incredibly exciting Um yes um and so michelle is just asking My Email address absolutely i’ll give that To you um so if you have any further Questions if you want the presentation I’m more than happy to share that with You Um so that brings me To the end of what i have to say um And of course you know any questions you Have Please please please ask and um
I would really like a glass of rose um Right now but i’m just gonna have to Stick with the sherry that i haven’t Tasted for an hour because i’ve been Talking for so long Um so um Yeah please keep asking questions and You can see we’ve got loads more stuff Coming up Um we’ve got um gin tomorrow Um if the weather’s nice you can have a Maybe pop some tonic in with that um We’ve got our quiz on thursday really Good fun Um we’ve got pamela simon with lydia Who’s here As well so she’ll be telling you all About that fabulous grape Um and then there’s whiskey as well Because next week um whiskey is one of Our spirits experts Um so yeah loads going on um So question from daniel um so how long Can you keep a grand reserve before How long’s a piece of string it depends On the producer some if it’s very Traditional you probably want to drink Them fairly quickly And some you might be able to keep for Three four years Who knows okay um Lydia can you answer the questions about Where to get record recording from