The flavor of chalk in wine of La Rioja
Discover the of La Rioja wines revealing the of chalk flavor during the olphactive analysis (nose) and during the gustative analysis (mouth).
La Rioja is a wine region in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in western Argentina, North of Mendoza and San Juan. Unlike its Spanish namesake, it has traditionally been associated most closely with white wines.
The mountainous Terroir of the region is particularly suited to the Torrontés Riojano variety, which produces Fruity, Soft, Aromatic whites. Bonarda, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec can also be found growing throughout the region.
Locals argue that La Rioja was one of the first Argentinian regions to have vines Planted in it, and Spanish settlers in the late 16th Century are widely credited with being the first to plant grapes here. La Rioja was named for the northern Spanish region by Juan Ramirez de Velasco, a native of the latter.
This has caused some animosity between the two regions. In 2011, the Argentinian province won a court case allowing it to continue to label its wines as 'La Rioja Argentina'.
Vineyard conditions in La Rioja
La Rioja's position in the rain shadow of the Andes range means that wine-producing areas are strictly governed by access to water. As a result, vineyard distribution is scattered.
There is a single main production area in the Famatina Valley, which sits in the mesoclimate formed by the Sierra de Velasco and the Sierra de Famatina mountain ranges. Some small vineyard areas can also be found around the towns of Nonogasta and Villa Union.
Bordeaux 2021 en primeur releases really picked up speed this week, and the launch of Ausone, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Canon, Montrose, Léoville Poyferré, Beychevelle and La Gaffelière in recent days – to name just a few – has given prospective buyers plenty to look at. Let’s not forget the debut for Lafite Rothschild 2021, too. Ausone, Canon and Pichon Comtesse 2021 Ausone is St-Emilion wine royalty, of course, and UK merchant Bordeaux Index quoted a release price of £6,000 (12x7 ...
A total of £72,600 was raised from 79 lots at the sixteenth DWWA wine auction hosted by Christie’s on 2 December – beating a record set in 2018. This total excludes Christie’s buyer’s premium. All proceeds will be added to funds raised by Decanter throughout the DWWA this year. Charities supported include The Drinks Trust, WaterAid, Cancer Research UK, Change Please, Decanter Apprenticeships and more. Over the past 12 months, Decanter has donated in excess of £100,000 to these charities. T ...
Last year, there was much mirth on wine Twitter about a particularly excruciating tasting note. You’re right. The wine trade needs to get out more. But still… this one was a beauty. It began well enough – really quite beautiful, in fact. But before long the imaginative descriptions were getting more ornate and strained. It moved from poetic to meaningless before finishing with a reference to Burnt Norton – the first of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets – that put it firmly in Private Eye magazine’s ...