The Grapes Come In

Finally it's not just the white grapes being harvested in Rioja: the reds at last are being picked but with loads of variation in the vineyards, it looks like it will take a while for those with the sense and patience to wait. It's been tough work for the harvesters in the Gómez Cruzado vineyards as only very small areas are being picked at a time in order to bring in the grapes at the right levels of maturity and at similar levels of quality. This means the harvesters have had to move from site to site within vineyards, as well as from one vineyard to another quite frequently. While taking more time, this will ensure the hard work is done in the vineyard, and grapes of lesser quality are kept out of the tanks where the best material will ferment away, destined for Reserva level and above.

Fortunately the rain has mostly kept away this week so grapes are coming in with more frequency. Sure, as I've said, there is variable quality but with all the work having been done in planning how to harvest, the last bunches of grapes to be discarded are easily spotted on the sorting table. Not many botrytised bunches are getting through which could mean the difference between great wines -from wineries taking the time and care to sort - and the bigger wineries where less attention is paid at this vital step. Even where producers have the latest technology on the sorting lines to measure the density and size of the grapes - a machine that costs a fortune! - it still takes careful attention and people power to sort the grapes of lesser quality.

We've also now had the chance to taste some of the earliest juice just in from the pressed grapes. Some of the early parcels look very good: full of bright red fruits with length and great acidity which should make long-lasting well structured wines: again proving that careful planning in the vineyards is crucial this year. Very happy that we are working with these sorts of growers!

An interesting thing to watch this year will be the quality of wines from the various regions of Rioja. Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa often produce high quality grapes that benefit from a long maturation and cooler climate than the warmer Rioja Baja. With the rain, the risk of disease and botrytis is very high in those regions so it is testing for growers who are keen to get their grapes in. But with the later harvest this year, Rioja Baja has some very good parcels of vines which are benefitting from longer time to develop. We visited some particularly good parcels of old vine Garnacha. A very interesting year developing...