Aragon Wine – SOMONTANO

Aragonese wine used to be considered heavy and coarse. At best, it was praised for its robust naturalness, since it was added to domestic and foreign wines to improve those with a weaker character. However, wine—producers in Somontano have put an end to this cliché in recent decades. First was the Lalanne vineyard, which, as long ago as the late 19″‘ century, started to grow the French Cabernet Sauvignon variety as well as the traditional Moristel grape used for the typical reds and rosés of the region.

Somontano is a strip of land on a high plateau at the foot of the Pyrenees; its southern boundary is Formed by the Ebro. Barbastro is the main town and center of trade and commerce. The vineyards extend across hills and slightly elevated plains that slope down to the river valleys. The soils are sandy with plenty of chalk but little clay and hardly any organic material, all of which makes them particularly porous.

The continental climate is tempered by the Pyrenees. The cold winters and mild summers with little rain provide a microclimate that is ideal for wine production. Some 2700 hours of sun every year guarantee that the grapes will ripen, and the small amount of moisture that there is protects the vines from pests and plagues. The potential of this region to produce quality wines has only recently been realized.

Today, the wine-producers of Somontano aim for lightness, elegance, and variety in their wine, to which end they acclimatize vines of international acclaim. Although local regulations cover only four white (Macabeo, Garnacha blanea, Alcanén, and Chardonnay) and five red varieties (natives Parrelera and Moristel, Tempranillo, Garnacha tinta, and Cabernet Sauvignon), in recent years growers have experimented with other (central European) grape varieties. Although new regulations prohibit the further planting of Riesling, Chenin blanc, and Sauvignon blanc, the Alsatian Gewurztraminer variety is still allowed to be grown.

Traditionally, Somontano red wines would also be offered for sale while still young. However, modern wines are generally stored for longer and have a fairly strong flavour of young wood. This emphasizes their strength of character, and is noteworthy in a country where red wines are traditionally stored in old wood for long periods of time.

Today, Somontano wines are known and appreciated for their clear fruitiness, their freshness and lightness. The red wines have a highly pronounced tannin note, and could have been made specifically for the paprika heat of the national dish, cordero al chilindrón . The white wines are light, fresh and fruity. A few examples of rosé are also available in Somontano.

BUBBLY PIONEERS

Almost one hundred years after the first sparkling wine known then as Champán was delivered to Catalonia, an Aragonese vintner accepted a challenge to produce his own Cava. Miguel Angel Bordeje Cruz followed the traditional champagne method to the letter: the best grapes are picked by hand and pressed just until the so-called “tear must” is acquired, which is full of the finest aromas.

The wine is left to mature in bottles in the peace and quiet of the cava (cave) — in short, the sparkling wine is made by hand with absolutely no chemical intervention whatsoever. In 1966 Miguel Angel Bordeje Cruz produced Brut. Nature, and since then the Cavas Bordeje have become
by far the regio’°s most popular sparkling wines. The grapes all come from the vintner’s own vineyards.
While other producers always add a few Xarello and Parellada grapes, Fernando Bordeje, the son of the first Cava producer, swears by his own pressed Brut Nature, which is made solely from Macabeo grapes. He is also the only vintner in Aragon to grow Chardonnay, a variety that purists regard, derogatorily, as a “fashionable” grape, and produces a slim, elegant Brut Nature 100% Chardonnay.

The name Brut Nature refers to the fruit sugar contained in the Cava, which is never, under any circumstances, added at a later stage. The top limit is 3 grams (one-tenth of an ounce) per litre of wine.

Today the Aragonese Cavas are all produced by the champagne method, and each vintner decides himself how long to leave the bottles to mature; the minimum period is nine months. There are now five cellars in Aragon that are dedicated to this rite: Langa in Calatayud, the Cooperativa San Valero in Carifieña, the Bodegas Bordeje in Ainzón, Caytusa, and the Cooperativa San Cristo.

As far as production methods and grape varieties are concerned, the Aragonese Cava is virtually identical to the Catalan, but the peculiarities of the soil and the microclimate play a large part in determining the personality of the wine. While the Chardonnay Cavas develop an unmistakably French touch of mildness and elegance, the traditional Macabeo Cava is noted for its stronger personality and more pronounced local character and is well loved by purists who prefer a
truly home-grown product.

WINE-PRODUCING REGIONS IN ARAGON

D.O. Somontano

The most striking feature of this wine-producing area is the sheer variety it produces. In addition to
the traditional heavy reds, a wide range of modern wines of great fruitiness and breeding are produced today On the whole, the white wines are light, fruity and expressive. There is a strong note of tannin in the red Cabernet Sauvignons, but the flavour is smoky with a pleasant fruit acidity

D.O. Calatayud

The vineyards in this D.O. are up to 3280 feet (1000 meters) above sea level, and so are well
protected against the extreme summer heat. The microclimate, two thousand years) of viticultural
experience, and a keen interest in new technologies have all combined to produce a quality product:
young, fresh, light wines — whites, reds and rosés — with a strong, confident personality.

D.O. Campo de Borja

The character of these wines is determined by the extremely dry continental climate. In the 20th
century most of the wine production was shifted from numerous private cellars to large cooperatives. Garnacha and Viura, from which red, white, and rosé wines are pressed, dominate on the slopes of the Moncayo. The red are aromatic when young, acquiring a rounder bouquet as they mature. The rosés are fresh and mild, the whites fresh and light.

D.O. Cariñena

The vineyards of Cariñena are between 1640 and 2625 feet (500-800 meters) above sea level, and belong to 14 villages in the Ebro valley at the foot of the Pyrenees. Oddly enough, the Cariñena grape, which is grown all over the world, is not widely grown in Cariñena. Garnacha is the main variety and Cariñena’s reputation is actually based on its old red wines, some of which are mentioned in José Zorrilla`s Don Juan Tenorio, written in 1844.
Bill & Sheila’s Wine
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