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Vine Varieties

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La Rioja is one of the few regions in the world where wine is made using only native vine varieties.

Tempranillo

Tempranillo is considered to have its origins in the area of La Rioja.
It is the most prestigious Spanish variety because of its quality potential.
This quality is even improved when combined with other varieties.
Tempranillo comes in medium-large clusters, berries are also medium-large sized, thick skinned and with a typical deep black colour.

Garnacha (Grenache)

This may be the most cultivated variety in Spain, second most used in Rioja.
It comes in compact medium-sized clusters, the same as their berries, which are dark but tenuous and light-fleshed.
Its wines are lighter and more obviously fruity, have a quick evolution, a high alcoholic strength and they lack acidity and intensity.
Garnacha is mainly used as a sidekick to Tempranillo in red wines and as a main ingredient in rosados, due to its very typical fruity and floral aromas.

Mazuelo (Carignan)

The Mazuelo variety is known as Cariñena in the rest of Spain.
The clusters are large, with medium-sized and rough skinned berries.
The wines produced have a nice colour, very stable through time, with a medium alcoholic strength, high acidity and a not very intense aroma.

Graciano

The Graciano variety is a richly coloured, perfumed black grape variety with a distinctive personality.
The grape clusters are large and compact, berries are medium sized.
Once widely grown in La Rioja, its cultivation poses great difficulty.
Wines have intense colour, typical aromas and is long lasting in the bottle.

Viura (Macabeo)

Viura is the dominant white grape variety in Rioja, due to the excellent quality it possesses to produce aged whites.
It comes in large clusters, with medium-sized berries that are yellow once ripe.
The wine produced tends to be pale with a vaguely floral character, and relatively low acidity.

Malvasía

This variety is used for making white wines.
Its clusters and berries are medium-sized.
The berries have a typical reddish colour.
The wines resulting from Malvasia variety have a nice deeply golden colour, have a tendency for oxidation and have a strong aroma and a full body.