2019 Rioja & Spain Vintage

The season was built on stability. It began with a dry winter of little rain, which led to somewhat weaker bud break than usual. In April, relatively low temperatures and scarce light slowed shoot growth, and early samplings already pointed to a crop moderate in volume. In June, rain rose above the average just as the vines flowered, leading to irregular fruit set and fewer berries per bunch. That limited production naturally and favored outstanding grape health: loose, well-aired bunches and moderate vine vigor. The summer then ran with great stability and no health incidents of relevance. Pablo Franco, Director of the Consejo's Organo de Control, said (translated) that "the year was marked by stability in the evolution of the vineyard", with only some very local weather incidents of little significance overall. Drinks International's harvest report of October 2019 carried the line "the rains came just at the right moment and the vegetative conditions have been exceptional all year round". Picking kept to the appropriate times of a typical harvest. The harvest was fully staggered by zone and very selective, and it closed officially on 15 October. The crop was around 385 million kilograms of grapes, about 20 percent smaller than 2018.

• Winter: dry, with little rain; bud break somewhat weaker than usual
• April: relatively low temperatures and scarce light slowed early shoot growth
• June: above-average rain at flowering gave irregular fruit set and loose, well-aired bunches
• Summer: great stability, no health incidents of relevance; harvest closed officially on 15 October

The Consejo Regulador confirmed its official rating of "Excelente" (Excellent) for 2019 on 12 June 2020, the first time it had awarded that rating since 2011. The rating came from analysis of more than 4,500 samples collected from fermentation tanks and tasted blind by a panel of 150 professionals, and it is recorded in the Consejo's Memoria Anual 2019 (annual report). The top rating is given only when the overall results reach the highest standard. Of the roughly 385 million kilograms harvested, 342 million were red grapes and 43 million white. By zone, 187 million kilograms were processed in wineries in Rioja Alta, 109 million in Rioja Oriental and 89 million in Rioja Alavesa. In all, 267.27 million liters qualified as DOCa Rioja wine: 233.08 million red, 22.11 million white and 12.50 million rosado. The moderate crop was among the decisive factors behind the vintage's concentration and phenolic quality.

The Consejo singled out the extraordinary ripeness of the grapes, especially in the tannin. Pablo Franco described (translated) "a round and very silky tannin that has marked the red wines since they were made", which he called a pleasant surprise, showing already and in wines of high polyphenolic load. Total polyphenol indices reveal wines of high polyphenolic load, with intense color, marked structure and notable capacity for aging. The Consejo calls the whites very expressive, with generous volume on the palate in line with the reds, and credits the region's native varieties and the great evolution in the quality of their wines. The rosados consolidate the move toward paler colors, with a predominantly floral aromatic expression. Franco summed it up (translated): "the 2019 harvest is 'THE harvest'".