REPORT ON THE VINTAGES 1999-2003

[ REPORT ON THE VINTAGES 2003 AND 2004 ] | [ Preliminary report on 2005 vintage ]

The Regulatory Board of Navarra has rated the last vintages in Navarra as follows:

Vintage 1999

A big frost on 16th April affected almost all our vineyards and our crop was reduced about 40 percent. But it was the unique negative circumstance in 1999. Conditions in the vineyards were very good  from May until harvest time (dry and warm weather which resulted in successful flowering and slow and regular ripening and no treatments were needed).  Crop was 60% an average year and grapes  were of very high quality. Red Wines with good colour, ripe fruit and tannins. White Wines with big structure and a bit mature.

Vintage 2000

Was a year with no difficulties in the vineyards and in the winery. Unless it is considered difficulties to make green prune in some of our vineyards and a careful selection to separate the best grapes. Quantity was abundant (our best production in the last ten years) and average quality was very good for all Wines: young and Crianza Red Wines, Rosé and White. Considering the three variables (difficulties, quantity and quality), vintage 2000 is our  best harvest in the last years. In 2000 we made some very good Wines but we did not make the excellent Wines of 2001 and 2002.

In 2000 we had an abundant harvest. It was a very successful flowering for all grapes (dry and warm weather on the flowering days. Please note that Garnacha has got a big tendency to corrimiento (unsuccessful pollination). More than 50% our vineyards are Garnacha and flowering is the main factor which determines the quantity of our harvest.  It was very good conditions during winter, spring and summer. There was rain at the crucial moments and it was generally dry during the summer which contributed to the abscence of diseases (oidium and mildew). It was also a summer free of plagues (piral, polilla, ácaros) . In particular we underline the fact that the summer was free of diseases and plagues for which it was unnecessary to spray the vines with compounds against diseases and plagues (I believe that the main element in these products is sulphur but I can not affirm it with certainty)  which some times are negative for fermentation.

Our Crianza Wines of 2000 have got a long life.

Vintage 2001

Was excellent for the quality of the Red Wines, Young and Crianza, but not for the Rosé and White. Our harvest was very small because of the corrimiento of  a substantial part of our Garnacha vineyards and also there was some corrimiento of the Tempranillo. It was a hot and dry summer during July and August which resulted in Wines with big colour and big concentration and with smooth tannins. In the end it was a year with an excellent phenolic ripeness but to achieve it was a question of patience: some growers picked the grapes early and their Wines were unbalanced because they had alcohol and acidity but they lacked the colour, the structure and the ripeness of tannins which were the result of the climatic conditions in the second half of September and in the first half of October. 2001 was a year for patient winemakers who benefited from late ripening

Our Crianza Wines of 2001 have got a long life.

Vintage 2002

Very small harvest because of the corrimiento of  more than 50% of the Garnacha. After the reduction of the harvest because of the corrimiento, the remainig grapes were of good and very good quality. It was necessary a big care in the selection of grapes. It was an unusual summer until the beginning of September because of the low temperatures, the lack of sunshine and the important amount of rainfall. Conditions were favourable from beginning of September though there was some rain in the last days of September and in October. Because of the small vegetation of our vines and because our yields were low, the adverse climatic conditions (until beginning of September) were not so negative for us: our vineyards were not affected by botritys and grapes riped well and even very well. Our Crianza Wines of 2002 are very good and even excellent.2002 White and Rose Wines were excellent. Our best Rose and White in the last years.

2002 was satisfactory to us because of two reasons: the low yields of our vineyards  and because we awaited to pick the grapes very late  (late ripening was very beneficial to all our grapes).

Our Crianza Wines of 2002 have got a long life.

[ Report on the Harvests 2003 and 2004 ] | [ Preliminary report on 2005 vintage ]