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Native and minority varieties

18/10/2017 Winemaking

We present you with a selection of wines made with native minority varieties of the Iberian peninsula. These varieties have been forgotten for a long time, and they were even replaced in the 90s with better varieties from France, such as the Merlot and Cabernet, among others. In recent years, the surge to find different wines, with identity and quality, has led to the recovery of these kinds of varieties.

Caiño Tinto: This grape comes from Galicia. In Ribeiro, they have been using this variety to produce red wines, but in Rias Baixas, its cultivation was declining due to the strong potential of white wines in the area. The wines made with this variety are complex in aroma, with a marked acidity in the mouth that becomes more evident in the coastal areas of Rias Baixas.
As an example, we present a wine from the Salnés area made by Rodrigo Méndez, who decided to advocate for this type of variety that was in decline for more than ten years. Nowadays, it is one of the great Spanish red wines; complex, light and saline.

Rufete: It is the majority variety of the mountain range of Salamanca. An area and a variety that are not so known. However, they have had quite a lot of importance lately thanks to the fino wines that are being made with this variety.
This wine is made by Mandrágora Vinos, a great connoisseur of fino wines of the world. The search of vineyards in different soils of the mountain range of France, and classic vinifications of areas like Burgundy, come together to make this wine.

Sumoll: before phylloxera, this variety was quite present in the Catalan territory, but more prominently in the area of Penedes. After the plague, winegrowers began to plant white varieties to produce sparkling wines. In recent years, young winemakers have started to make wines with this variety, controlling the ripeness and maceration to make fluid wines.
Pardas, one of the best producers, is one of the wineries that chose to use this variety. Sus Scrofa is the wine they make in cement deposits, so that nothing interferes with the aromas. A good wine that shows the potential of the Sumoll.

Trepat: the native grape of Conca de Barbera. This variety has been used to make rosé and sparkling wines in the area, thanks to its small amount of colour and strength that can be achieved with this variety. Due to the growing demand for wines with little colour and alcohol, this grape is now being recovered and used to make red wines.
Josep Foraster is one of the wineries that chose to use this variety for this type of wine back in 2011. They lowered yields per hectare and used the production method for red wines. As a result, we have this magnificent wine.

Maturana tinta: This variety has been rescued from vineyards that were located in Navarrete in 1990. One of the people who began to recover this variety was Juan Carlos Sacha, a professor of the Oenology University of Logroño. They usually make wines with quite a bit of colour and a more spicy and vegetal side.
This wine is the result of research and reproduction of these strains that were located in Navarrete.

Tintilla de Rota: since the 19th century, these grapes have been used to make red wines in Cádiz. Recent DNA work has shown that it is genetically identical to the Graciano variety, but both by climate and by the years it has been planted it has its own singularity. In the past, they used it to make sweet wines, but nowadays they make dry, young wines or wines slightly aged in barrels.
This wine by Willy Pérez is at an intermediate point between preserving the fruity and spicy character of the variety and achieving more complexity by producing in different ways. The vineyard is planted in the famous farm Balbaína, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, on white “albariza” soils. A wine that shows the great potential of this variety.

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