2005 Rioja & Spain Vintage

The Consejo Regulador reported that the previous cycle ended with good wood ripening, no frost and little rain, and that the dormant season brought scarce rain and moderate snow across the DOCa. Wine Spectator quoted Telmo Rodriguez saying adequate winter snowfall kept the soil wet enough to carry the grapes through to harvest. Budbreak was good and within normal dates for Rioja, 7 to 10 days ahead of 2004, and by the end of April the Consejo found 100 percent of primary buds had broken, with 1.2 to 1.6 bunches per shoot in red varieties. Fruit set was complete by mid-June, still 10 days ahead. Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo and Viura set fairly well; Garnacha was more irregular, hit by coulure. Scattered June storms brought a good amount of water, then July was especially dry. From January, rainfall ran clearly below a normal year, yet the Consejo judged water stress acceptable, felt only in places in dryland vineyards on light soils. Irrigation was banned from 1 August in Rioja Baja and from 8 August in the rest of the DOCa. Veraison ran normally from mid-July, and at the Consejo's first ripening check on 22 August the vineyard was in excellent condition. Picking began on time in the first days of September in the easternmost part of Rioja, then slowed: days were moderate and nights cool, which the Consejo said brought sugar ripening into line with phenolic ripening, ideal for quality. Picking became general in Rioja Baja from 17 September, and reds in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa came in from the last week of September in good weather. From 12 October, with 10 to 15 percent of the crop still to pick, a spell of rain hampered the end of the harvest and affected the weight and character of the grapes. The harvest ended on 29 October, after almost two months, as usual for Rioja.

• Dry winter with moderate snow; rainfall clearly below normal from January
• Budbreak 7 to 10 days ahead of 2004; fruit set complete by mid-June; Garnacha hit by coulure
• June storms, an especially dry July; irrigation banned from 1 August (Rioja Baja) and 8 August (rest of the DOCa)
• Cool harvest nights; rain from 12 October with 10 to 15 percent left to pick; harvest over on 29 October

The Consejo compared 110 reference vineyards with the previous year and found fewer, more irregular bunches per vine in Rioja Baja and Rioja Alta, and similar numbers in Rioja Alavesa. Bunches were a similar size in Rioja Alavesa, smaller in Rioja Baja and irregular in Rioja Alta. Even so, the Consejo called 2005 generous in quantity as well as quality. The DOCa had 59,309 hectares in production (54,632 red and 4,677 white), 1,172 more than the year before, and they gave 444.74 million kg of grapes. To keep quality up, the Consejo capped protected yields at 6,500 kg/ha for red and 9,500 kg/ha for white varieties, so 397.20 million kg were protected, and growers thinned bunches in many plots. At the maximum 70 percent grape-to-wine ratio, that meant around 280 million litres of protected wine.

• Rioja Baja and Rioja Alta: fewer, more irregular bunches than 2004; Rioja Alavesa similar
• 59,309 hectares in production, up 1,172 hectares on the year before
• 444.74 million kg harvested; 397.20 million kg protected under caps of 6,500 kg/ha (red) and 9,500 kg/ha (white)
• Around 280 million litres of protected wine at the 70 percent maximum grape-to-wine ratio

The Consejo rated 2005 "Excelente" (Excellent). Its plenary session said the grapes reached the wineries in excellent health with analytical figures matching a harvest of extraordinary quality. Its ratings table shows the same top mark for 2004, and earlier for 2001, 1995 and 1994. Producers quoted by Wine Spectator in December 2005 were upbeat. Telmo Rodriguez predicted "the best wines ever seen from the region" and said "there will be a freshness to the wines." Jaime Echavarri, director general of El Coto, said Tempranillo fared better than Garnacha, and that old and low-yielding vineyards suffered less from the drought than younger ones. He said the crop "seems to be clearly better than 2004, which was very good indeed," but cautioned, as did some other vintners, that the wines may be low in acidity.

• Official rating: "Excelente" (Excellent), as in 2004
• Decanter's vintage guide: 5/5
• Telmo Rodriguez (Wine Spectator): "there will be a freshness to the wines"
• Jaime Echavarri of El Coto: Tempranillo ahead of Garnacha; acidity may be low

Wine Spectator's preliminary report gave Spain a B+ and called 2005 one of the driest years in memory, with yields 10 percent to 40 percent lower than normal in some vineyards. Summer was marked by drought, but temperatures were not overly warm, giving small, concentrated grapes that ripened fully, free of mildew or mold. In Ribera del Duero a September frost burned the vine leaves and left the grapes without shade. In Catalonia, intense rain on 7 and 8 September broke the dry spell, and Miguel Torres reported that botrytis did not form.

• Spain-wide: one of the driest years in memory; yields 10 to 40 percent below normal in some vineyards (Wine Spectator)
• Ribera del Duero: September frost burned the vine leaves
• Catalonia: intense rain on 7 and 8 September, no botrytis, per Miguel Torres