Garnacha, a very versatile grape
We present one of the latest rediscoveries in the wine world. It is the Garnacha, a grape of Spanish origin of medium-early maturation, with great versatility given its great ability to make different types of wine (red, white, pink, sweet …) that are characterized by their good body, the use of fruits and their strong personality.
Garnacha is a grape of Aragonese origin that expanded to the south and east along which was the Crown of Aragon, during the XII and XVII centuries. Consequently, Grenache has a long history in various parts of Europe such as southern France, Corsica, Sardinia, southern Italy, Sicily, Croatia and even Greece. Grenache also expanded into non-European regions such as Australia, North Africa and California during the 18th and 19th centuries. Therefore, this variety originally from Aragon is probably the variety of Spanish origin that occupies the largest surface in the world.
The Garnacha is a grape capable of adapting to all kinds of environments and situations, thanks to which in the 19th century it had a great takeoff when the powdery mildew arrived, a disease to which the Garncha showed more resistance than other varieties. which, began to be planted to a greater extent.
Despite this, at the end of the 20th century there was a decline that led to the association of Grenache for a wine of poor quality for years. To this day, the Garnacha returns to resurge at world-wide level being the zones of origins the places where more is blunting.
Varieties of Garnacha
Grenache ink
A type of grape that allows to make both red wines and rosé or sweet wines. It is a type of grape that produces aromatic wines, of little intense color, with high alcohol content, medium body and good acidity.
White grenache
A grape variety that comes from a mutation of Garnacha tinta and that is better suited to warm and relatively dry climates. This variety produces aromatic and fruity white wines with golden yellow colors.
Garnacha Tintoreta
It is characterized by its colored pulp and its intense bright purple color, superior to other varieties of grapes. They are wines of a lot of color, dry extract, maintain their acidity and provide a fruity and floral aroma.
Types of Land
Garnacha adapts ideally to the climate of the warm and windy Mediterranean valleys. It mellows late, so it needs warm and dry conditions. Its strong wooden canopy and vertical growth help it resist the northern winds in those valleys. The long and deep roots of Garnacha adapt well to water stress. In fact, Garnacha prefers dry and hot soils that are well drained, where it can concentrate flavors and aromas, especially with old vines.
This is the case of Calatayud where most of the Garnacha vineyards are located in high altitude areas. The climate is characterized by its continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. Regarding the type of soil used, Calatayud has undulating terrain with a steep slope, most of the vineyard settling on stony, loose soils, very poor in nutrients and with a high proportion of limestone. They have good permeability and are healthy.
The soils on which Garnacha is grown are the following:
Gravel
It is a soil composed of pebbles and boulders, with alluvial results, with good drainage.
The vegetation is very good in this type of soils, wines, complex, intense, structured and fleshy.
Red boards
Coming from clays compacted at high pressures. They are low fertility soils without hardly retaining rainwater.
The resulting wines have a characteristic mineral component, they are subtle, fine and elegant wines.
Gray slates
Darker in color than the red boards, it retains the heat of the day and releases it at night. They are soils of little depth so the mother rock outcrops to the few centimeters of depth.
The resulting wines have high alcohol content and provide low yields. Very structured wines and also minerals.
Margas
Composed of limestones and clays. They are ideal soils for viticulture, offering little resistance to the penetration of the roots. They reflect sunlight and store their heat for the night period
The resulting wines are full-bodied wines, warm, powerful and aromatic, suitable for aging.
Clay-ferruginous
Soils composed mainly of clays and with high contents in iron and little rolled songs They are floors with enough profile, being able to surpass the 3 mts. of depth.
The resulting wines have high alcohol content and a lot of color.
If you are interested in trying the excellent Garnacha de Calatayud we recommend that you click on the following wines to get more information about each of them.
