2017 Rioja & Spain Vintage

The 2017 cycle ran well ahead of normal from the start. Bud break began in the easternmost part of the DOCa in mid-March, about 15 days earlier than in 2016, and the rest of the appellation kept a similar head start up to the frost. Two events defined the year: a lack of meaningful rain through much of the cycle, and the frost of 28 April, which affected about a third of the vineyard in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa with uneven intensity and considerably reduced the crop expected there. Rioja Oriental was less affected. Through the summer, the lack of rain during ripening and days of extreme temperatures sped up sugar ripening, while phenolic ripening at first lagged behind. By the end of August the vines were showing the strain of prolonged drought and heat, and late August rain eased the water stress and let phenolic ripening continue. The end of the cycle brought notably stable weather, and no significant pests or diseases were recorded across the DOCa. Picking began on 10 August in Rioja Oriental with the earliest white varieties, three weeks earlier than the year before and the earliest start in the history of the appellation. The harvest was staggered and calm in each zone, and slow, especially in its final phase. The crop was 359.5 million kilograms of grapes, noticeably lower than in previous years because of the frost and drought; the Consejo's year-end review gave a total of around 349 million kilograms.

• Mid-March: bud break in the easternmost part of the DOCa, about 15 days ahead of 2016
• 28 April: frost hit about a third of the vineyard in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa; Rioja Oriental less affected
• Summer: little rain and days of extreme temperatures; late August rain eased the drought stress
• 10 August: picking began in Rioja Oriental, the earliest start in the appellation's history; crop 359.5 million kg

The frost drew the main line between the zones. It fell mainly on Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, affecting about a third of their vineyard, while Rioja Oriental saw a more limited effect, which is why the eastern zone opened the earliest harvest in the appellation's history. The diversity of the 2017 wines is marked largely by plot yields cut by the frost: where frost reduced the fruit on each vine, the plants put their resources into fewer bunches, giving wines of exceptional concentration alongside more classic wines from less affected plots. The eastern zone's name was itself new: the switch from Rioja Baja to Rioja Oriental was confirmed and in effect since 15 February 2018.

• Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa: about a third of the vineyard affected by the 28 April frost, with uneven intensity
• Rioja Oriental: more limited frost damage; bud break from mid-March and first to pick, on 10 August
• Frost-thinned plots gave wines of exceptional concentration; less affected plots gave more classic profiles

The Consejo Regulador awarded 2017 its official rating of "Muy Buena" (Very Good), for the second year running, after its technicians analyzed and tasted 4,020 samples drawn from winery tanks. The rating sits one step below "Excelente". In all, 249.57 million liters qualified as DOCa Rioja wine: 215.90 million red, 21.60 million white and 12.07 million rosado. Some wines received the highest scores of recent years when rated by the Consejo, and Harpers quoted it calling 2017 a "high-quality, low-volume harvest". Average alcohol ran slightly above 2016. The Consejo's English report describes "fine and elegant wines, with a complex and marked Rioja character, very suitable for aging in barrel and long aging"; its Spanish page attributes the phrase "fine and elegant wines, with a complex and marked Rioja character" to Pablo Franco, Director of the Consejo's Organo de Control. The Consejo describes the reds as having solid polyphenolic structure and intense, deep color; the whites as expressive, with good structure, ripe fruit notes and freshness; and the rosados, scarcer than in other years, as standing out for liveliness and aroma.

• Official rating: "Muy Buena" (Very Good), from analysis and tasting of 4,020 samples
• Qualified volume: 249.57 million liters (215.90 red, 21.60 white, 12.07 rosado)
• Average alcohol slightly above 2016; some wines earned the highest scores of recent years
• Fine, elegant wines with high potential for barrel aging and long aging; reds show solid polyphenolic structure (Consejo)