Navarra’s Wines Go Global With Rosado, Garnacha: John Mariani
Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- On the heels of Ribera del Duero, Catalonia and Rioja, Spain’s region of Navarra has quickly jumped into the global market by capitalizing on its tradition of excellent garnachas and adapting to more popular varietals like tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah.
A tasting of dozens of Navarra wines last month in New York showed how fast the region’s viniculture has come since the 1990s, when its wines had next to no international distribution or reputation.
“It’s a region on the move,” said Robin Kelley O’Connor, director of sales for Sherry-Lehmann Wine & Spirits in New York. “They’ve discovered great terroirs; now all they need is a little patience to make great wines.”
Navarra, a mountainous northern region made famous by Ernest Hemingway in his novels “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “The Sun Also Rises,” ranges from the eastern Pyrenees to the edge of Rioja Baja. Pamplona is its principal city.
Today the region’s total wine production has risen to 60 million liters, from 18,000 hectares of vineyards separated into five zones -- Valdizarbe in the north central; Tierra Estella in the northwest; Baja Montana in the northeast, where the best rosados are made; Ribera Alta around the town of Olite; and Ribera Baja in the south.
According to Ana Laguna, wine expert with the Navarra School of Tasting, 70 percent of the region’s grapes are indigenous -- mainly tempranillo, garnacha, graciano and mazuelo for the reds, viura and moscatel de grano menudo for the whites -- and 30 percent are international varietals. Almost all of the region’s wines, 94 percent, are red.
Fragrant Rose
The wines I was most impressed by were the rosados, with their true rose color, fragrant nose and flower-and-mineral flavors picked up from the red limestone that covers the region’s vineyards. Ochoa -- one of the more notable modern wineries there -- makes an enchanting rosado for summer ($10). Its 2007 vintage, with 13 percent alcohol, is now ready to drink. It’s perfect with tapas, shrimp and lobster.
Every bit as good, a gorgeous pink color with a hugely satisfying bouquet, was 2007 Campos de Enanzo ($10). Its garnacha grape juice is derived from a “bleeding technique” of sheer gravity rather than mechanical pressure.
Ochoa, an innovative winery whose vineyards date to the 14th century, also makes a fine 2005 single-vineyard blend of garnacha and graciano ($15). The latter grape, which fell out of favor because of low yields, is now appreciated for just that quality, resulting in a wine of depth, rich tannins and dark cherry flavors.
Rich Tempranillo
A bottle of Ochoa’s 2001 Reserva (about $18), a blend of 70 percent tempranillo with merlot and cabernet sauvignon, showed signs of oxidation, though its 2005 Crianza, 100 percent tempranillo ($15), was stunningly rich and balanced in fruit, acid and tannins. At the same level of elegance and vivacity was the 2005 Artajona Argaray Crianza ($12).
I can’t claim much experience with wines made from Navarra’s mazuelo grape (elsewhere called carignane), though I found the 2005 Senorio de Sarria Vinedo No. 8 ($20) very tannic right now yet with plenty of pleasing dark fruit at the back of the palate.
The most distinctive wine of the tasting was 2007 Nekeas El Chaparral ($15), 100 percent garnacha. It showed how the spice and black pepper of this grape, usually known as grenache, is a direct result of terroir, in this case the Nekeas Valley, protected from the cold winds of the Pyrenees by the Sierra del Perdon mountains.
It’s interesting that almost every Navarra wine I sampled, here and in Pamplona, was labeled no higher than 13.5 percent alcohol. One exception was an Inurrieta graciano ($14), with no vintage listed, that was a little too brassy and plummy at 14.5 percent.
Keeping the alcohol under 14 percent means the producers are not trying to compete with the overextracted reds that are part of some Spanish vintners’ global plans. Instead, Navarra has achieved a fine balance of the old with the new, making fresh, fruity wines that haven’t lost the taste of their terroir.