Six ancestral grape varieties are being recovered in Castile and León

Yesterday, more than seventy wine professionals gathered virtually for a unique tasting led by Masters of Wine Almudena Alberca, Pedro Ballesteros, and Sarah Jane Evans. Its distinctive feature lay in the grape varieties tasted: six ancestral varieties recovered from extinction in different parts of Castile and León by the Itacyl Institute, which was also present at the tasting.

The event was led by the co-founder and director of Alma Vinos Únicos, Paco Berciano, and also included the participation of researchers from Itacyl (Agrarian Technological Institute of Castilla y León): José Antonio Rubio Cano, Researcher, head of the Woody and Horticultural Crops Unit of Itacyl; Enrique Barajas Tola, researcher of the Woody and Horticultural Crops Unit of Itacyl; Sergio Vélez Martín, predoctoral fellow of the Woody and Horticultural Crops Unit of Itacyl; and Alberto Martín Baz, oenologist of the Rueda Oenological Station.

The tasting revolved around six ancestral varieties recovered from extinction in different parts of Castilla y León by Itacyl, which has been immersed since the 90s in research work to recover and select the best clones of local varieties that can adapt to the vineyard of the Community and provide a heritage resistant to climate change, complementary to that of other varieties already established in the countryside of Castilla y León and capable of adding value to their areas of origin.

These six varieties presented here are part of a larger collection of 14 varieties with good oenological or agronomic qualities, selected from over a thousand original vines found in more than 200 plots. From that thousand, about 30 were chosen as promising, and of these, 14 were ultimately recovered: Áurea, Bastardillo Chico (Merenzao), Bruñal, Cenicienta, Estaladiña, Gajo Arroba, Mandón (Garró), Negreda, Negro Saurí (Merenzao), Puesta en Cruz (Rabigato), Puesto Mayor, Rufete Serrano Blanco, Tinto Jeromo, and Verdejo Colorao. Some of these are already officially recognized as commercial varieties, while others are currently being evaluated by the Spanish Plant Variety Office (OEVV).

“They share some common characteristics that make them stand out and increase their appeal in the face of earlier harvests and very hot summers,” explains researcher José Antonio Rubio, adding: “These are varieties that achieve a very appreciable acidity, and many of them maintain late ripening, which makes them especially valuable and interesting. In addition to preserving acidity even during hot ripening periods, the wines have exhibited very distinct and novel nuances on both the nose and palate, aspects with a soft and very pleasant rusticity and minerality that differentiate them from known varieties. Therefore, this represents the emergence of a group of varieties that will bring freshness and novelty to the Spanish wine scene and offer new characteristics to consumers.”

The institute also points out that these varieties "represent a clear gateway to the future of Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) more focused on origin and resilience to the climate change affecting vineyards worldwide. Likewise, they represent an asset that opens up profitability and added value options for winegrowers, both for their ancestral adaptation to the land and for their ability to ripen under optimal conditions and produce wines that are both unknown and interesting to the markets."