The regulating council of the D.O. Rioja has given the official qualification of 'Very Good' (Muy Buena) to 2015's vintage.
A total of 319 million litres of wine were produced, and as reported by GranConsumo.tv, the general consensus about this year’s wine’s outstanding qualities is that it has a great "freshness and elegance, along with ideal characteristics for ageing."
This grade was the average obtained after 4,454 samples were taken directly from vineyards’ cellars by the council's technicians, who then placed them under chemical and organoleptic analysis.
Compared to last year, the region’s red wines have shown an improvement, and are also slightly higher in alcohol this year.
A good climate and the absence of disease has allowed for the right ripeness levels, and exceptionally positive conditions in September contributed to the overall positive results.
One remarkable fact about 2015's vintage was that most of it was produced within 2 weeks, while traditionally, it can take up to two months for the Rioja vintage to be completed. This was due to the almost simultaneous harvesting of the grape varieties in the area.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Gabriela Guédez. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
