Production

Red wine and rosado part ways in Navarra right at the very start of pressing. For Tinto, the skins stay in the vat during fermentation so that color and tannin transfer into the must. For classic rosado, on the other hand, the must drains naturally from the red grapes during the sangrado process, entirely without pressing, after a brief maceration with the skins. At least eighty-five percent of the grapes must be red.

When it comes to barrel time, Navarra is stricter than its reputation as rosado country might suggest. At the same time, it stays looser than its famous neighbor to the west. A Crianza Tinto needs a total of twenty-four months of aging, at least nine of which must be in oak barrels of no more than three hundred thirty liters. A Reserva requires thirty-six months total, twelve of them in wood. A Gran Reserva demands sixty months total, at least eighteen of them in oak. For comparison: a Rioja Crianza needs three months more in wood for the same classification.

Traditionally, Tempranillo aged in American oak, with its vanilla and coconut notes. Since the 1980s, when EVENA in Olite began systematic experimentation, French oak entered the picture too, more restrained in aroma and finer in its toasted notes. Which barrel suits Garnacha, a rather delicate, aromatic grape, remains debated to this day. Many producers therefore blend both.

In the dry south, in Ribera Baja, another wine is made that's now hard to find: vino de licor. Alcohol is added to must made from Moscatel de Grano Menudo or Garnacha. The alcohol content must fall between fifteen and eighteen percent by volume, with a sugar content of at least sixty-seven grams per liter. The result is a dense, raisin-like sweet wine – an almost forgotten specialty from the same arid zone that today is known mainly for powerful Tintos.

The start of any aging period, by the way, is fixed by law: it can begin counting no earlier than October 1st of the harvest year, no matter how early in the year the grapes were actually picked. In the hot Ribera Baja, harvest begins earlier than anywhere else in the DOP, according to the specifications. So there can be quite a wait between the last grapes going into the barrel and the official start of aging, especially in an early, hot vintage.