End point to our 2017 harvest. A harvest that we will all remember for its remarkable advance over previous years as well as for its duration, one of the shortest in recent history in our wineries. These are the effects —found across many Spanish wine regions— of this year’s severe drought and the very cold frost that froze the vineyards at the end of April.

Nonetheless, our final balance is very positive despite the noticeable decline in production. The grapes from our estates, manually cut and optically selected, stood out for their excellent condition, high colour levels, aroma and, particularly, their magnificent balance.

At La Rioja Alta, S.A., special mention should be made of the superb quality attained by the Tempranillo and Graciano in the La Cuesta and Montecillo vineyards in Fuenmayor and Cenicero. In addition, our winemaker Julio Sáenz was also very happy with the Garnacha grapes from La Pedriza in Tudelilla, an essential component of the Viña Ardanza wine.

This vintage was particularly good in Torre de Oña. Even Sáenz considers that our Rioja Alavesa vineyard offered “the grapes with the most balanced ripeness of the last years” and even points out that “we can stand before one of the best vintages” in the Páganos winery.

The Áster winery in Ribera del Duero also collected very good quality Tinta del País grapes in excellent condition, although, in this case, production was severely affected by the harsh weather in 2017.

In Lagar de Cervera, the vintage of our Albariño grapes concluded on 22 September and the wines have already successfully completed their fermentation in the winery in O Rosal (Pontevedra). In his final balance, the winemaker Ángel Suárez expressed his joy at having successfully managed, both in terms of quality and of quantity, a very demanding year with a worrying water shortage in Rías Baixas.