2015 Rioja & Spain Vintage

The Consejo Regulador describes 2015 as a warm, dry summer followed by a cool autumn that allowed slow, balanced ripening, with good weather all season giving excellent canopy growth and grapes free of pests or disease. Of July, Alberto Saldon of Bodegas Sierra Cantabria told Decanter that "July saw an unusually high number of days over 40 degrees centigrade." Decanter's 18 August report added that rain in the week before meant yields were expected to be average across the region. The Consejo called September exceptionally favourable for quality, and it credits the lack of rain late in the cycle with smaller berries and a better skin-to-pulp ratio, as reported by Vinetur. It was the earliest harvest in the history of Rioja. Picking ran almost simultaneously across the region, with the bulk brought in within about four weeks, against the nearly two months a Rioja harvest normally takes. By the feast of the Virgen del Pilar on 12 October, traditionally the peak of picking, practically all vineyards were harvested, and the Consejo declared the normal harvest closed on 13 October, according to Vinetur. Production was a little higher than in 2014 but below the maximum authorised yields, including 6,955 kg/ha for red grapes.

• Warm, dry summer and cool autumn; grapes free of pests or disease (Consejo Regulador)
• July brought an unusually high number of days over 40 degrees C, according to Alberto Saldon of Bodegas Sierra Cantabria (Decanter)
• September exceptionally favourable for quality; no late rain meant smaller berries and a better skin-to-pulp ratio
• Earliest harvest in Rioja's history: bulk picked in about four weeks, practically all in by 12 October

In mid-September maturation checks, the Consejo's control services said that "in any zone of the Denomination there are vineyards ready for harvest" (translated), as reported by Vinetur, and recommended selective picking regardless of location, since ripening depended more on factors such as crop load. In August, Decanter reported that some producers expected to begin up to a month earlier than usual, and a Consejo spokesperson expected the first white grapes at the end of August, especially in eastern vineyards. Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia said the harvest at Vina Tondonia in Haro, Rioja Alta, should be two weeks early, and Remelluri, typically among the last to pick in Rioja Alavesa, was also running two weeks early. Saldon expected Sierra Cantabria's Vinedos de Paganos vines to be picked one month early.

• Ripening depended more on crop load than on location, so the Consejo advised selective picking (Vinetur)
• Vina Tondonia, Haro, Rioja Alta: expected two weeks early (Decanter)
• Remelluri, Rioja Alavesa: running two weeks early (Decanter)
• Sierra Cantabria, Vinedos de Paganos: expected one month early (Decanter)

The Consejo Regulador's rating of "Muy Buena" (Very Good) sits just below "Excelente" on its scale, and it is the average of marks given to 4,454 samples taken from the wineries' fermenters and put through laboratory and sensory tests. In all, 298.48 million litres qualified: 268.24 red, 16.62 white and 13.62 rose. The previous vintage, 2014, was rated "Buena" (Good). The Consejo found quality particularly outstanding in wines from cooler areas with moderate vigour and limited production. It describes the reds as having intense fruit from proper ripening, very elegant tannins, great aromatic complexity and the balance and structure for ageing, with an average alcohol of 14.15 percent, slightly above average. It says Tempranillo reached full ripeness, while Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo added complexity and structure.

• Rated "Muy Buena" (Very Good); 2014 was "Buena" (Good)
• Qualified: 268.24 million litres red, 16.62 white, 13.62 rose
• Reds: intense fruit, very elegant tannins, suited to ageing; 14.15 percent average alcohol
• Best results from cooler areas with moderate vigour and limited production