NB.: Any prices, vintage ratings and drinkability expressed are those current at the time this article was published, and may have changed in the meantime. This article is Copyright ©

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JR's notes:

This article appeared in DECANTER magazine in July, 1997. It's about how hard Navarra has worked to drag itself out of the shadow of neighbouring Rioja. The DECANTER website is at www.decanter.com

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NAVARRA - BEYOND THE ROSADO FACTOR?

By John Radford

Until relatively recently Navarra kept pretty quiet about its red wines - perhaps not wishing to trespass on the territory of its formidable neighbour to the west - and concentrated on telling the world how good its pink wines are. This is still true, of course, but most modern commentators would agree that the massive strides Navarra has made over the past ten or fifteen years have been in its reds. Even historically the gastronomic profile of the area has been solidly carnivorous - lamb, pork, beef and game have been the staples ever since the Kings of Aragón and Castile disported themselves along the mountain valleys - so good red wine has been part of the culinary furniture for as long as anybody can remember.

The catalyst in much of Navarra's development has been EVENA, (Estación de Viticultura y Enología de Navarra) whose enthusiasm, expertise and encouragement has been phenomenal. EVENA has supervised experimental plantings to match soil- types with rootstocks, grape-varieties with microclimates and vinification styles with must-weights to the point where any grower or winemaker can call for help and advice in anything from replanting to installing new vinfiers.

So, if this explains the wide variety of types of wine made in Navarra, and the meticulous quality-control which goes into their production, where does that leave us? Well, at a pinch we can divide the wines of Navarra into three basic categories, and I hope I may be forgiven for using the cliché classifications of 'traditional', 'modern' and 'post-modern':

'Traditional' red Navarra takes its cue from a century ago, when France, devastated by Phylloxera, came over the mountains looking for wine. Rioja and Navarra were the first stop and the wine they wanted to buy was of its time - powerful, plenty of oak age and plenty of shelf-life. Rioja had already developed its own version of the style and Navarra, having much the same ingredients, followed suit. Typically traditional Navarra reds will be mainly Tempranillo, ideally from Estella and Valdizarbe in the north, fleshed out with some riper, warmer Garnacha from the south. In extremely good years when the wine may be expected to be kept for rather longer, there may also be an admixture of Graciano and Mazuela, as in the Gran Reservas of Rioja. However, the style is usually slightly softer than Rioja, and Navarra wine tends to mature earlier. In great years, such as 1995 and (if you can find any left) 1982 these are wines of peerless grace and complexity. In very go od years (for example 1994, 1993, 1989, 1988) they will tend to be made to Reserva level and will also show well, soon - and usually at a lower price than the wines of their western neighbour.

'Modern' Navarra wines tend to be monovarietal - typically Tempranillo, especially in the north where the vineyards are cooler and the Basque influence demands wines of delicious fruit and crisp acidity. Once again, these may oak-age gracefully in great years, even to Gran Reserva level, but only the richest Bodegas can afford the quality of grapes to make pure Tempranillo with that kind of longevity. Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot and Garnacha are all made as monovarietals with varying degrees of oak and, indeed Cabernet does very well in wetter years. These wines are seldom aged beyond Reserva level, and very often they provide the best bet for early-drinking quality in vintages which we might describe as 'good' rather than 'very good' - for example 1992, 1991, 1990, and 1987.

'Post-Modern' winemaking is something which rediscovers some of its ancient roots and techniques - such as barrel-fermentation, for example - but allies them with the very latest in winemaking skills - so we're looking for a jigsaw of complementing grapes, each of which brings something to the final cuvée. The first of these were straight Tempranillo/Cabernet-Sauvignon, and many of the best remain with this constitution. However, experimentation continues and it's not unusual to find Cabernet/ Tempranillo/Merlot or Cabernet/Garnacha or even a Merlot/Tempranillo/Cabernet- Sauvignon/Cabernet-Franc/Syrah/Malbec/Mazuela mix (I kid you not but I name no names). The message from Navarra - and from EVENA - seems to be that if you can imagine it, they'll give it a try.

This is what we know about Navarra wine. But if you want understand Navarra wine, then go to a small town called Ujué which is in the middle of nowhere, west of Olite. There's one mesón in the town, called Las Torres. Order the migas and chuletillas and a bottle of the house red. They'll serve you a copper bowl heated over a log fire, full of delicious, toasted breadcrumbs with chopped jamón and slices of chorizo and bits of who-knows-what, and then they'll bring you a plate of lamb-chops simply grilled on a parilla over the same log fire, with some potatoes and some plain bread.

Break the bread. Eat the food. Drink the wine. You won't know who made it or what the grape-mix is... But you will know that you're in Navarra.

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