The DOCa Rioja Control Board has awarded the rating of 'Very Good' to the 2020 vintage. This assessment is the conclusion of a rigorous and transparent process of analysis of all the wines produced in the Designation, for which the Board's technicians collected between November 2020 and February 2021 nearly 4,800 samples from the fermentation tanks of the wineries. These samples were subjected to physicochemical analysis and tasted by a panel of 150 professionals; this organoleptic study phase, structured in sessions of 5 tasters, produces a total of 24,000 determinations on which the rating is based.
This exhaustive analysis process has led to highly satisfactory results for the wines of the 2020 vintage, which are based on the significant efforts made by the winegrowers and wineries of the Designation of Origin. During the plenary session held online, Pablo Franco, director of the Control Board's Control Body, took stock of the 2020 campaign, highlighting its complexity and praising "a vintage that, starting from an early explosive bud break, in which the fight against diseases and the effects of adverse weather phenomena were tackled with great professionalism, went from strength to strength and had an end of cycle with a good phenolic ripening".
During his speech, Franco praised the work of the Control Board's 200 harvest technicians and assistants, who ensured compliance with the appellation's strict regulations with the utmost professionalism and under strict anti-covid protocols, and witnessed "a grape entry into the winery in ideal conditions on the whole".
As for the wines produced, the technical assessment confirms the very positive sensations obtained in the first devatting of the vintage. In this sense, the red wines stand out for their aromatic frankness and great fruity definition; they provide a roundness in the mouth that is a sign of very good phenolic maturity, as well as a perfect harmony with the alcohol content, more moderate than in the previous campaign.
The rosés are marked by a generalisation of lighter shades of pinkish notes, which in this vintage provide a greater maturity in terms of their aromatic range. The white wines have a high intensity of aromas, a very good acidity and a very positive evolution of quality; the level of precision with which the elaborations are being made has been particularly surprising, which allows us to speak of a unique and unique identification of Rioja whites.
The president of the Control Board, Fernando Salamero, said during the session that "the tenacity with which we have worked on this 2020 vintage translates into a sense of optimism and that, despite having been a very complicated year, we have once again been able to bring to market a product that meets the highest quality standards". The president took the opportunity to congratulate the sector "for its professionalism and for not having given up in the face of adversity and for having achieved a very satisfactory result".
Concern over new energy infrastructures
As part of the session, the members of the plenary expressed widespread concern about the proliferation of projects for the implementation of new renewable energy generation infrastructures in the geographical area of the appellation, due to the enormous impact they could have on the vineyard and winemaking work in the cellars, on wine tourism and on the landscape heritage.
Being aware that renewable energies are a resource for the future, the members of the body have put on the table the advisability of a land-use plan that ensures the least possible impact on the wine sector of future wind, photovoltaic and high-voltage infrastructures, and have reaffirmed the following position dating from 2002, involving representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Autonomous Communities:
The plenary session of the Control Board of the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin considers that administrative actions in matters of infrastructure and town planning should exhaust all possibilities and alternatives beyond mere technical and budgetary considerations, before affecting the historical heritage of the Rioja, in particular wineries and vineyards, the age-old flagship of the Designation, due to the damage that, beyond the commercial aspect, this would represent for the whole of the Designation, showing the sensitivity required by a key sector in the socio-cultural and economic sphere of the region".
Appeal against the processing of a new DOP
At the same meeting, and following the roadmap announced on 25 March, the plenary unanimously agreed to file an appeal against the favourable administrative decision to process the application for protection as a DOP 'Arabako Mahastiak - Viñedos de Álava'. Last March, DOCa Rioja announced that it was going to use all the resources at its disposal to prevent the undue exploitation of its appellation's reputation.
