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Central Spain
The Levant Valencia Alicante Utiel/Requena Valencia Murcia Campo de Cartagena Abanilla Designed and
maintained by FLB Enterprises
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Spain
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Central Spain
The Levant Valencia Alicante Utiel/Requena Valencia Murcia Campo de Cartagena Abanilla Designed and
maintained by FLB Enterprises
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VALENCIA There's a story about Valencia and its attitude to wine: the first man to make wine in Andalucia took it to his priest; the first man to make wine in Rioja took it to his table; and the first man to make wine in Valencia took it to the harbour and sold it to a passing merchant man. That's the way it's been, in Valencia, since time immemorial. While the rest of Spain was still debating whether the left or the right foot gave a better pressing, Valencia was building industrial bodegas and filling the holds of foreign traders. While the rest of Spain was experimenting with concrete and epoxy, Valencia was installing fibreglass fermentation tanks. And while the rest of Spain was wondering whether this stainless steel thing would really catch on or whether it was just a flash in the pan, Valencia was installing computers to control its cold-fermentation technology. Why? Because the rest of Spain was selling to the rest of Spain, but Valencia was selling to the world. Valencia has been exporting wine ever since man persuaded two logs to float, but the real boom came in the early part of this century, when the Swiss started to take an interest in Valencian wine. Switzerland drinks a lot of wine, and produces very little. Its nearest neighbours produce a great deal, but charge a high price. So Spain seemed like a good place to source some good quality, well-made but low priced wines for the Swiss market. However, they would, of course, have to match Swiss expectations of quality controls well. So the Swiss did what the Swiss always do. They bought the company ,well, founded the company, anyway. Bodegas Egli was founded in 1903, and Bodegas Schenk in 1929, and both are wholly Swiss-owned. Other companies also have a substantial Swiss share holding, and it's this early attention to the needs of the export market which has given Valencia the impetus to keep on improving its quality and to focus on export markets, worldwide. The biggest producer of them all exports between 83% and 93% of all its wine, by ship, road- and rail-tanker, and in bottle. That's why it can be rather odd when you mention Valencia wine to people in the north of Spain. They shake their heads - "oranges, you mean," they will insist. ''Valencia grows oranges, not grapes." Such has been the focus on the export market that the home market has been neglected to the point where almost nobody outside the Levant even knows about it. However, one of the side-benefits of this attention to quality control can be seen on most of our supermarket shelves throughout the UK: it may only be called "Somebody's Spanish", but the small-print will say "Valencia". Castilla La Mancha (east)-DO Almansa Climatic factors: Mediterranean influences and humidity, but much hotter than Catalunya, even in the highlands (up to 700m). Cultural factors: Export mentality. The biggest wine export zone of
Spain, some foreign ownership since the 1920s and a willingness to experiment.
Some Moorish influences. Gastronomic factors: Fish and seafood, as for
Catalunya, but also the traditional Paella, invented hem Orange rice- growing
region). Strong foreign influences from seafaring tradition. Mostly everyday
quality wines, mostly for export except on the islands, where the tourist trade
is prime.
UP ALICANTE Alicante is the southernmost of the DOs of the Pais Valenciana, and is divided into two subzones, one around Denia on the coast north of the city of Alicante (which specialises in Moscatel Vines de Licor), and the other (Subzona Clasico) encompassing the city itself and a large area to the west, contiguous with the DOs Jumilla and Yecla (in Murcia), Almansa (in Castilla-La Mancha), and the Clariano subzone of the DO Valencia). Most of the vineyards are in the province of Alicante, but the south- western part of the main subzone goes over the border into the district of Albanilla, in the province of Murcia. Alicante has a good many parallels with its neighbouring Levantine regions: it grows similar grapes ( principally the Merseguera and the Monastrell) and has traditionally been mainly involved in the bulk market, which still represents most of its output. However, new thinking is as alive and well here as elsewhere in the country, and some old classic wines from the area such as the Fondillon Vine de Licor, and Rancios are starting to re-emerge, as the light wine market shifts in favour of lighter, fresher, and lower-strength wines for the supermarkets of northern Europe: nearly all the major bodegas now sport at least some stainless steelery in their fermenting halls, and with normal renewals tending to switch (on a cost basis as well as on quality) to the new technology, However, there's many a good tune played on an old fiddle, and some older installations, when well-managed, are also capable of producing quality wines: in these parts, the winemaker is at least as important as the kit . GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY CLIMATE GRAPES AND YIELD The Monastrell is a bit of an unsung hero in levatine parts its juice is
richly coloured (rosados need no time in maceration, the time spent in the
crusher is long enough) and, given expert handling, can produce great,big, long-
lived wines of considerable style... For those few Bodegas which can afford the
oak.. And the time. VITICULTURE Natural Disasters THE WINES Fondillon from 100% Monastrell with 16% abv and eight years in crianza (often in a variant ofthe solera system). These wines are unique to Alicante and some ofthe more ancient examples are as fine and nutty as a tawny port In the future, Alicante's main thrust is likely to be - like that of its sister DOs Valencia and Utiel-Requena- very much at the younger end of the market, with crisp, fresh whites and rosados and light gluggable reds, as well as with the gently-increasing interest in Moscatel dessert wines. However, it would be foolish to write off the possibilities for new-wave wines made with Cabernet and Riesling, and the Monastrell and the Tempranillo have yet to show what they can really achieve in the hands of an expert. VINTAGES SUMMARY UP UTIEL/REQUENA Utiel-Requena is the biggest and furthest inland of the three Valenciano DOs, and its generally hotter and riper wines do much to balance the cooler produce of the coastal DO of Valencia, under the temporary agreement which allows blending (see Section G1.1). The area has always been famous for a heavy red wine called "Doble Pasta", made by fermenting one lot of grape must on two lots of lees. This was and is used for beefing up lighter wines, at home and abroad, but its place has partly been taken by concentrated grape-juice, which is now a major export item for Valencia as a whole, though Doble pasta is still in demand. I once asked an exporter how his trans-Pyranean customers used this popular, concentrated, wine enhancer. 'Fruit-drinks' was the brief reply, before he hurriedly changed the subject... Many of the best-value low-price wines labelled 'Valencia' are mainly composed of wine from Utiel-Requena, but it would be a mistake to assume that everything produced here is cheap and-cheerful. Just as with every other region of Spain, there is always a Bodega here, a Finca there, where good, even - occasionally - great wine is being made. GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY CLIMATE GRAPES AND YIELD Permitted White Grape VITICULTURE Cryptogamic Diseases . Natural Disasters Frost and hail are quite frequent at this altitude, and extreme summer heat is frequent but the vines are well-adapted to it. In the highlands, old vines have been found to have roots which have grown up to 7 metres long in their search for water, and the low culture means that grapes are sheltered from the heat of the sun to a large extent. One grower remarked that if they trained on the Guyot system they wouldn't harvest grapes - only raisins. VINICULTURE The result is a wine high in alcohol (up to 18%) and extract which is used to beef up table wines to the required consistency. Valencia's increasing production of grape- juice concentrate (thanks to improvements in refrigeration technology and high investment for the export market) means that this "beefing up" can now be done more effectively before fermentation, and also produces a more integrated wine. As a result Doble Pasta wines were expected to disappear within a few years, as recently as 1991. However, it resolutely refuses to do so, and in 1994 there was even a slight increase in demand, particularly for Eastern European vineyards which are trying to rebuild themselves after the collapse ofthe old ComEcon subsidy system... So don't be surprised if genetic finger-printing reveals a bit of Bobal (or Monastrell) in your Bozgrovian Cabemet-Sauvignon! THE WINES A Tempranillo fiom Utiel-Requena will be fully mature after six months in oak and a year in bottle (cf Rioja 3-5 years), and producers believe that it's a combination of dry climate, very ripe grapes and wide temperature swings (in the summer the temperature can fall in places from a daytime 3 80C to a night-time 100C on the same day) during the Crianza period. The DO update regulations in 1991 allow for an additional grade of wine under
the DO: Utiel-Requena Superior. This is reserved for white wines made fiom
Macabeo which achieve between 10.5% and 12% abv; Pink wines made fiom Bobal
which achieve the same strength range; and red wines made-from Tempranillo and
Garnacha which achieve between 11.5% and 13.5% abv. This is part ofthe quality
plan which, they hope, will see Utiel Requena closer to the quality end ofthe
market by 1997. VINTAGES SUMMARY UP VALENCIA The city of Valencia dominates winemaking in the northern part of the Autonomy, even if the wine thus made carries the DO Utiel-Requena This is another factor in the proposed changes to the DO (see section G1.1). However, many of the larger Bodegas are already moving out of town, and many more will be doing so as part of the ''Grau'' (the old port quarter ofthe city) - Cabanal - is demolished to make way for "L'Avenida de Valencia al Mar" - an extension programme to the Avenida Blasco Ibanez which will see a major boulevard fiom the city centre, right on to the beach. It's a big project, of course, but Valencia is no stranger to big projects: they put four lanes of the main Barcelona railway line underground to get rid of level crossings; they entirely rebuilt the port and harbour area and extended the land out to sea in the process after local fishermen complained about having to share berths with international bulk tankers; and because the river Turia used to flood in the winter they diverted its entire course round the south side ofthe city and made the old riverbed into a long, thin, rather curvy park. Although another feature of Valencia is its urban farms - smallholdings dotted about within residential and even industrial areas - the vineyards themselves are well outside the city itself, on high ground to the east and in a non-contiguous area to the south. GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY Valentine: The land rises steeply from the 30km-wide coastal plain, eastwards from the sea towards the interior, which splits Valentino into three separate areas, in geological and climatic terms. The lowest of these are Cheste and Marquesado, in the south. At an altitude of 175-180 metres, they have brown or reddish-brown limestone soils, with consolidated subsoils in parts of Cheste. The next "step up'' in altitude is to Campos de Liria at 260 metres, where the soils are mainly similar to those of the lower slopes, but without the consolidated subsoils. The highest part of Valentine is Serrania, at 550 metres with brown limestone soils on consolidated subsoil. Alto Turia: This area is at 625 metres and has a rather more sandy soil. Clariano can also be subdivided into the eastern part (Clariano itself) which is at 350 metres with a similar mix of soils to those formed in Valentine; and the Valle de Albadia has a higher proportion of clay under its brown limestone topsoil. In general, the Valencian subsoils vary from lowland alluvial to highland limestone, through clay somewhere in the middle. Topsoils vary from decomposed limestone in the west to sandy soil in the highlands. CLIMATE In addition, some of the upland areas are classified as mid and semi-arid and elderly vines have been found to have roots going seventy metres deep in search of water. Average rainfall for the whole region is 450 mm per year. GRAPES AND YIELD RECOMMENDED WHITE GRAPES: Pedro Ximenez is used in some of the sweeter whites and is also only grown in Valentine. It occupies 5% of the Valencian vineyard Moscatel Romano is used in the Valencian "vines de licor'': 15% of the vineyard and grown mostly in Valentine. AUTHORISED WHITE GRAPES: AUTHORISED RED GRAPE: Maximum yield is 7,000 kgma for reds, 6,500 kgma for whites in the Alto Turia region, and 8,000 kgma for whites from other regions, with a rendimiento of 70 litres/ too kg throughout. Two types of planting are used in Valencia, according to the climatic
conditions, roughly as follows: Cryptogamic Diseases Insect Pests Natural Disasters VINICULTURE The light wines of Valencia are of particular interiors because of the thorough treatment they receive, in the bodega and in the laboratory. Most of the larger bodegas have the latest heat-exchangers, cold-rooms, and millipore filters which can strip out anything fatter than 46 microns whilst retaining all the primary flavours and fruit in the wine. In the laboratory the wines are subjected to everything fiom chromatography to micro biological analysis and samples of each bottling run are kept for two years to provide a reference against future development ofthe wine. If any region of Spain can be said to be in absolute control of what goes into the bottle, just about every time, it's probably Valencia. THE WINES Valentine Biancos (seco, semi-seco, dulce) made with Merseguera, Planta Pina Pedro Ximenez and Malvasia; Light reds and Tintos from both Garnachas, all the forgoing with a minimum 11% abv. Valentine also makes Licoroso and Rancio wines with a minimum of 14% abv, from Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez. Most of the Moscatel de Valencia comes from Valentine. Clariano Bianco Seco fiom Merseguera, Tortosi and Malvasia with minimum 1 1% abv; Light red and Tinto from Monastrell, Forcayat and the Garnachas with minimum 12% abv. White and Rosado wines have no ageing and are sold as Jovenes. Reds come in both that style but there is also an increasing interest in Crianza wines (as witness the introduction of the Tempranillo and experiments with Cabernet Sauvignon) with the standard 6 months in (American) oak and twelve months in the bottle. Licorosos and Rancios spend 24 months in American oak and 12 months in the bottle, which allows them to classify as Reservas. In practice. what this means to the UK wine trade is a range of wines that are as clean as a whistle and perfectly stable: Dry Whites fiom simple wines at everyday prices to Jovenes of very pleasant character. Off-Dry Whites from 6 to 36 g/l residual sugar according to the buyer's
needs Succulent dessert Vinos de Licor" in all price-ranges. One particularly interesting case in this category is a bodega which sells Moscatel de Valencia to two supermarket chains in the UK One of them demanded a high quality, premium product to sell against Beaumes-de-Venise in the £8-£9 bracket, the other wanted a cheap, sweet screw top wine for the sherry-trifle market, to go out at under E4. The same bodega was able to satisfy both customers. How? The customer specified how he wanted his Moscatel to be and the Bodega supplied it to just those specifications. The rest is trade secrets. Interestingly, unfermented grape-juice is also a big export deal in Valencia, and companies such as Ribena in the UK are some of its biggest customers. It's also used in some countries to beefup the quality of their own grape- must before fermentation is allowed to start. This use of grape juice is perfectly legal throughout the EC in wines which are simply classified as "EC Table Wine", and Eastern Europe is also a large market. VINTAGES Summary Grapes - Recommended White Grapes: Merseguera, Malvasia, Planta Fina, Pedro Ximenez, Moscatel Romano. Authorised White Grapes: Macabeo, Tortosi. Recommended Red Grapes: Monastrell, Garnacha,Tintorera, Garnacha, Tempranillo. Authorised Red Grape:Forcayat Experimental Grapes (not permitted in any DO wine): Cabernet-Sauvignon Max. Yield: Soil: Alluvial Lowlands, limestone highlands, sandy topsoil in Alto Turia. Climate: From hot-Mediterranean to very hot, semi-arid and arid in
pockets. Max. temp 350C. min temp. Wines : Alto Turia: dry whites 10% abv. Valentine: dry and sweeter
whites, light reds and reds 11% abv; Moscatel de Valencia and Rancios 14% abv.
Clariano: white, light red and red all 12% abv.
UP MURCIA The city of Murcia is a prosperous market town which, for centuries, has made its living in the fruit business. The Autonomy(and-province) of the same name is, culturally and geographically, a continuation of the Pais Valenciana, with which it makes up that section of Spain known generically as Fl Levante: "The Levant". However, fruit was Murcia's origin and halt is still its life blood. The luxuriant "huertas" (fertile plains) between the sea and the mountains grow everything from oranges to melons, with palm-groves and rice-paddies in the south - and vineyards, of course, on the slopes of the sierras as the land climbs from sea level towards the Meseta of central Spain. The city sits astride the river Segura, and was founded (as Mursiya) in the year 831 by the caliph Abdu'r Rahman II. However, it was recaptured in 1266, and was considered sufficiently far inland to be safe for the Pope to move the local bishopric there fiom Cartagena - a coastal city which was often attacked by pirates and other seaborne undesirables. The cathedral dates from the 14th Century. From a winemaking point of view, Murcia used to be yet another ofthe bulk wine-making and -exporting regions like Valencia to the north - indeed, there are some 600 ha of vineyards belonging to the DO Alicante within the province of Murcia, although they're turned into wine over the border. However, unlike Valencia, Murcia sold its wine for blending to other wine-producing countries, so there was not the demand for high-level quality control whose legacy has done some much to lift the reputation of Valencian wine in the recent past. The received wisdom was that Murcia wines were heavy, heady and alcoholic, but while the market would happily swallow everything it could produce, there was no stimulus for change. However, the market is now demanding something very different, and Murcia, like many other regions of Spain is having to rethink the wines it makes, and how it makes them, to get into the new markets in Spain and the rest of Europe. In recent years, Jumilla wines in particular have started to make an impact on the UK market, Yecla is not far behind and some bodegas are making a concerted effort to improve their quality and attract international attention. GASTRONOMY SUMMARY DO zones: VdlT (Vino de la Tierra) areas - see section 02.2. *This VdlT area is expected to be promoted to full DO status during 1995. MURCIA - VINOS DE LA TERRA Vdit BULLAS (DOp) Bullas was awarded the DOp in 1982, and in the last edition of these notes we reported that there had been little progress since then, and that the region seemed to be stuck in the kind of stasis that so often afflicts areas that would really like to go for promotion but have to weigh up the cost of reinvestment against the possibility of eventual failure. While the bulk market - on a regional basis at least - was still going strong, many wine producers preferred the (cheap) devil they knew to the (expensive) devil they didn't. However, a quiet revolution has been taking place in the background and, after thirteen years it seems that enough bodegas have made the effort to reinvest, at last. The DOp was reconfirmed on 18FEB93 and it now seems that INDO is likely to grant fall DO status to Bullas during 1995 - though probably only to a cut-down central zone of some 2,600 ha, with four major bodegas which have shown their commitment to working towards QWPSR status. 95% of the vineyard is planted in Monastrell with the rest mainly Merseguera at the moment. However, under the 170CT92 regulations, Monastrell and Cencibel are classified as the principal varieties, and secondary varieties are Garnacha Tinta, Garnacha Tintorera, and Airen, so the attempt to force changes seems to have borne fruit. The area is registered for wines of all three colours. Bullas has the benefit of a Mediterranean climate, which means slightly cooler vineyards than its compatriot DOs of Yecla and Jumilla, and wines with a bit more acidity. Production is mainly red wines of 130/P-15% abv, with a few bodegas aiming
for a new cool-fermentation style of wine, albeit still with epoxy-concrete
tanks in most cases. There is some white (sometimes from Monastrell vinified
''en bianco'' - quite a discipline with a grape which colours so quickly) and a
certain amount of rosado, and at least one Bodega offers a red Reserva with a
mixture of tank, oak and bottle storage. However, the received opinion is that
Bullas' red Jovenes are the best wines that it produces. UP CAMPO DE CARTAGENA Campo de Cartagena wines are produced around the town of the same name on the south-eastern coast ofthe Province of Murcia There are 143 ha classified as Vine de la Tierra, growing 80% Merseguera and 20% MONASTRELL, and producing about 12 hl/ha The new regulations recommend Merseguera and Cencibel as principal Varieties, along with Pedro Ximenez and Airen as back-up. The soils are not very good, mainly loose clay, but with some carbonates, at altitudes of around 200 m, and the climate is dry-Mediterranean with an average annual rainfall of 280 mm. This district is actually about half ofthe original 300 ha area of Campo de
Cartagena, the rest of which has lost the right to the name. In the new VdlT
zone winemaking is improving, although the main product is a rather old-
fashioned Bianco Dorado aged according to the Crianza artesanal - i.e. in tinaja
As a result, a good deal of the wine is only suitable for local
consumption. UP ABANILLA This area is contiguous with the DO Alicante - indeed, parts of the municipio of Abanilla are included in the Alicante DO zone (see section 01.3) - and includes vineyards in Abanilla and Fortuna Some 2,000 ha of vineyards are planted with the Monastrell and subsidiary varieties such as Garnacha Tinta, Merseguera and Airen. The wines have something ofthe character of Jumilla and Alicante about them, though not really in the same measure. SUMMARY Grapes: (Red) Monastrell, Garnacba; (White) Merseguera, Mar. Yield: Soil: Sandy loam over brown earth with carbonates. Climate: Hot-Continental: average 150C, summer high Wines:White and Rosado Jovenes, red Jovenes and C Reserva and Gran Reserva to
come in the future.
UP THE MESETA MADRID-GENERAL Madrid - DO Vines de Madrid Climatic factors: Very continental, a high plateau (600m) with very hot summers, very cold winters, it needed tough, hardy vines which would survive. Cultural factors: Isolation from the coast,so minimal export tradition. Dependence on local trade and, since 1561,Madrid. Gastronomic factors: Sheep and cheese country - big red wines and,
traditionally, hefty whites since the principal vine is a white-grape vine.
Mainly everyday quality wines.
UP Designed and
maintained by FLB Enterprises
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