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The popular view is that the 1964 Rioja harvest has been the best harvest of the twentieth
century. I think this rating is certainly deserved. What I can say about 1964 vintage:
as background climate, a previous winter quite cold and summer with an August hot, with an
average of 23 degrees C, where the monthly average in Rioja was 21.5 degrees C, and certainly
cold spring, almost icy, which was not forceful and did not affect quality.
Also note the lack of rain in June that in view of the data we have so far, seems to
be a precedent for excellence.
In June, when it rains a little, flowering passing through a critical situation and few
seeds are formed. The few seeds formed the smaller will be the grape because the grape
size is proportional to the number of seeds. Few seeds and small grape, assumed, for geometry,
much skin with respect to the pulp and the peel is where the aromas and polyphenols,
color, concentrates.
In 1964 I started some microbiology work on natural yeast in the vineyard and I could
see there was plenty C. Pulcherrima. C. Pulcherrima is natural yeast that today, taxonomically,
is called Metschnikowia Pulcherrima, yeast that is characterized by a drop of oil. This
yeast hardly ever act during fermentation but gives a flavor profile to the wines in
the early stages of alcoholic fermentation (Saccharomyces yeast act after M. Pulcherrima)
but the nature of M. Pulcherrima stamps its character in the wine and is a quality factor.
This yeast appears on excellent vintages but in recent years had disappeared and, fortunately,
has come back strong in the 2005 vintage.
What I can say in addition, about 1964 vintage, is that, by that times, winemakers used to
influence the elaboration at the end of the fermentation of the sugar, yeasts consumed
the sugar and the wine was made. BY that time there was not a policy of acting on polyphenols,
anthocyanin and tannins, however, when the harvest was excellent, with the relatively
short maceration of 10 days it was enough to get anthocyanins and tannins extracted,
because the grapes used to have at least about 13 % alc at least when the average was 12
% alc.
Quality factors of the vintage 1964:
The highest expression of quality is given in the chalky clay soil because they are poor
soils (such as soil from which the stones of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
of Labastida, s. XVI-XVIII)
Little rain in June, no rain 20 days before the veraison (veraison runs from late July
to early August), only 20-30 litres/m2 during the veraison and 20 days after veraison no
rain again: a fluke.
A September month relatively cool, sunny and hot days and cold nights.
Castrijo is the brand of a wine from what used to be the Labastida Coop. The harvest
of 1964 was the first released vintage of this winery. Those who encouraged the cooperative
Labastida was built, at least with technical ideas, we saw that in the term of Labastida
the wines were very nice and pleasant, because vineyards are located in calcareous clay soil,
vines face south/south-west, excellent for receiving the sunlight and to good ripe the
grapes and it was a precedent for centuries of high quality wines since Quintano brother
(D. Manuel Quintano y Quintano, born 1.756, and pioneer in the introduction of the Bordeaux
elaboration method in Rioja).
One can also say, abounding in all this, about 12 years ago, we did a tasting of 10 wines
from Rioja 1964 harvest, I do not remember the brands, but the wine that turned out best
was a carbonic maceration wine. This is to say that when nature is favorable, the winemaker
does not influence: things get done alone.
I remember that during the 1964 vintage/harvest I went crazy helping wineries, because the
wines were 14 %alc, when the normal was 12 % alc, and there were problems in whites
and roses, which were finishing fermentation too sweet.
Castrijo is a very Celtiberian name because it has the J and R a little carried away,
which means that commercially, to American speakers, it has to be something difficult
to pronounce.