2011 Rioja & Spain Vintage

The 2011 growing cycle was shaped from the start by rainfall significantly below that of a normal year. The drought hit unevenly: dry-farmed plots suffered most from water stress and, in isolated cases, basal leaf loss, while vineyards in cool, irrigable areas developed more regularly. Some areas of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa showed irregular fruit set from May, with Garnacha the most irregular, though fruit set was good overall. Drought in July and August hit dry-farmed vineyards hardest, and every stage of the cycle ran ahead in an especially dry year. Across the DOCa the vines stayed in excellent vegetative and sanitary health to the end of the cycle, barely touched by pests, disease, frost or storms. Ripening ran about fifteen days early in Rioja Oriental, where picking began on 24 August in vineyards at Azagra in Navarra. Harvest became general in the last week of September and ended on 25 October across Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, the usual two-month span. In Rioja Alavesa the campaign was quick, under high temperatures and no rain at all, with 96 percent of the crop in the winery by 12 October. The crop came to 387.57 million kg from 62,125 hectares in production, an average of 6,238 kg/ha, the lowest of the decade after 2002; the year's harvest rules had allowed up to 460 million kg.

• Rainfall significantly below a normal year; dry-farmed plots suffered water stress and some basal leaf loss
• Irregular fruit set from May in parts of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, Garnacha the most irregular
• Picking began 24 August at Azagra in Rioja Oriental, went general in the last week of September and ended 25 October
• 387.57 million kg from 62,125 ha: 6,238 kg/ha, the lowest yield of the decade after 2002

The 387.57 million kg crop splits by region: 268.54 million kg in La Rioja, 77.85 million kg in Alava and 41.18 million kg in Navarra, with red grapes making up 92.32 percent of the total and white grapes 7.68 percent. Rioja Oriental ran earliest, with ripening about fifteen days ahead and the first grapes picked at Azagra on 24 August. In Rioja Alavesa the harvest was quick and went general in the last week of September. Fruit set was irregular in some areas of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, which Noticias de Alava expected to help grape quality by leaving bunches smaller.

• La Rioja 268.54 million kg, Alava 77.85 million kg, Navarra 41.18 million kg of grapes
• Rioja Oriental: ripening about fifteen days early, first picking at Azagra on 24 August
• Rioja Alavesa: harvest general in the last week of September, quick under high temperatures and no rain
• Irregular fruit set in parts of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa left smaller bunches, a plus for quality, as Noticias de Alava expected

The Consejo Regulador rated 2011 "Excelente" (Excellent), the top grade of its official system, after analysis and tasting of 3,987 samples representing the 277.31 million litres made. It was the fourteenth Excelente in the history of the Denomination and the eighth since the current system of rating by analysis and tasting began three decades earlier. It also repeated the Excelente given to 2010, a back-to-back run seen before only in 1994/1995 and 2004/2005, and 2011 was the last Excelente before 2019. The statistics placed 2011 among the three vintages with the best analytical parameters in thirty years of the current quality control. Only 66 samples, 10.88 million litres or 0.7 percent of the harvest, were rejected, leaving 266.43 million litres certified, including 14.14 million litres of white and 12.14 million litres of rose.

• Official rating: "Excelente" (Excellent), the Consejo's highest grade, for the second year running
• 3,987 samples assessed, representing 277.31 million litres of wine
• Among the three vintages with the best analytical parameters in thirty years
• 66 samples rejected: 10.88 million litres, 0.7 percent of the harvest

The Consejo singles out the exceptional health of the grapes as a defining feature of 2011. With no fungal pressure and moderate yields, fermentations ran without notable technical problems, giving well-structured, very healthy wines with good color. The Consejo describes the reds as having good polyphenolic load, intense color and a structure that marked them out for ageing and Gran Reserva, and Vinetur called the wines especially suited to ageing. The Consejo also credits the low yields with giving more concentrated, balanced fruit, and its president, Victor Pascual, credited the region's growers and winemakers. Looking back after more than a decade in bottle, the Consejo describes the 2011 Gran Reservas as showing ripe fruit, oak spice and earthy, balsamic notes, with acidity and tannin in balance.

• Exceptional grape health and fermentations without notable problems (Consejo)
• Well-structured, very healthy wines with good color, per the Consejo's rating statement
• Consejo: lower yields meant more concentration and balance in the fruit
• Consejo president Victor Pascual credited growers and winemakers