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10 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Location/topography/geography
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- Duero Valley; Southeastern Castilla y Léon.
- Flat, high altitude (700-850m) land around Cigales. - East of Toro/Rueda - Best sites are north of the river. - Very few vineyards are on the banks of the Douro. |
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Climate/weather
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- Continental climate
- Hot, tempered by altitude --> high diurnal range. +30C to -1C in one day. - Hot summers and harsh winters --> frost is a hazard. - Low rainfall <450mm/y - 2.400h of annual sunlight. |
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Soil
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- Best soils have hi limestone content and large stones to aid drainage.
- River banks: alluvial sand and clay - Lower slopes: clay, marl, limestone - Upper slopes: limestone and marl - Peaks: limestone and chalk --> key is limestone. Other key is bedrock of schist, like in Priorat. |
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Grape varietes
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- Black: Tinto Fino (90% of plantings).
Others: Garnacha, CS, Merlot, Malbec (experimental) - White: Albillo |
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Grape varieties
Tinto Fino - Tinto de Toro |
- More intense
- Higher acidity - Thicker skins - Small berries - Hi sugar concentration - Unusual high pip to flesh ratio |
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Viticulture
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- 8.000 vine growers
- Key hazard: spring frost. |
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Vinification
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- Almost 100% Tinto Fino (excl Vega Sicilia) w most wines not aged as long as in Rioja for a deeper colour, hi tannins and darker black fruit and plum flavours.
- Use of French oak. - Vega Sicilia: aged for many years in cask, oak vat or concrete tank; wines w intense complexity and premium. |
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Wine styles
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- Red and rosé wines are allowed.
- For Crianza's 12m oak ageing iso 6m (like Rioja) - Never cheap; growing conditions are too difficult. - 5% Albillo (white grape) for acidity (like in Toro); 100% Albillo is non-DO; VdlT Castilla y Léon. - 75% must be Tinto Fino |
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Scale of production and industry significance
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- 21.000 ha
- DO since 1982 (quite recent) - 250 bodegas - Key producers: Vega Sicilia, Pesquera, Pingus |
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History
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-12th: arrival of Benedictine monks from Cluny.
- 70-80s: tradition of cheap rosés turned to overall quality; Pesquera started making wines as elegant as Rioja, but more full-bodied, concentrated and fruit-driven. - International renown followed. |
