Notes & queries

Each month our experts answer readers’ wine queries and share their knowledge Email: editor@decanter.com. Post: The Editor, Decanter, 161 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9AP, UK

Unravelling Rioja

I’ve been given a bottle of Pagos de Tahola, Selección de Martin, Rioja 2011, which sells for about $40 in the US. It’s not clear where this wine would fit in terms of Rioja styles – has it been aged in oak barrels? Nikita Fomin, by email Sarah Jane Evans MW replies: Rioja does have specific age classifications: Crianza (the reds are minimum one year in oak barrel, one year in bottle), Reserva (reds are minimum 36 months’ ageing, of which at least 12 months is in oak barrels and six months in bottle), and Gran Reserva (reds age for a minimum of 60 months, of which at least two years has been in oak barrels and at least two years in bottle). Oak-aged wines that use this classification must be aged in 225-litre oak barrels.

The good thing about these regulations is that they have a defined meaning, unlike wines labelled as ‘Reserve’ the world over. The downside is that these are not a guarantee of quality, only of a specific ageing.

Plenty of fine wine producers prefer to age their wine in larger containers, from 300L to 500L and more, giving less oak influence. Alternatively they may still use 225L barrels, but prefer to age their wine for periods of time different from those prescribed by the Rioja DOCa regulations. The collective term for these wines, which simply declare a vintage, is genéricos in Spanish. The translation ‘generic’ really isn’t fair. Yes, some will be fruit-driven, young wines with no oak or bottle-ageing requirements: wines for drinking now. These were previously known as ‘joven’ styles.

However, others of these vintage-dated wines with no specified ageing classification will be perfect for laying down. There was a fashion about 10 years ago for what were then known as ‘Vinos de Autor’. They were also genéricos. These super-expressive wines were super-concentrated, sometimes undergoing 200% new oak (spending two years of ageing in oak with a new barrel each year). The fashion for Vinos de Autor has calmed down, and the genéricos category is worth exploring, as it offers great diversity.

It’s true that this breadth of choice means there is less reliable guidance for the consumer. Clues like the price may tell you something of the producer’s or retailer’s ambition. On Decanter.com we reviewed the Pagos de Tahola, Gran Reserva 2007 in 2017 and gave it 92 points. Pagos de Tahola is a Chávarri family brand. The wine you were given is a special selection: it is likely to be a specific blend in the range, or a special selection for an importer in the US. It would almost certainly have undergone oak ageing.

2010 was an outstanding vintage in Rioja, one of the greats, and so 2011 has been in its shadow. Nevertheles, there were some excellent wines produced. Now in 2021, a decade on, this is surely the time to try it.

Distillation: the cut point

I really enjoyed Peter Ranscombe’s article about new distilleries in Scotland (May issue). He mentioned a ‘cut point’ in whiskey distilling – can you explain what this is? Gareth Watson, by email David Longfield replies: Distillation is carried out in stages, which depend upon the relative boiling points of various volatile compounds in the liquid being distilled. The most volatile will boil off at a lower temperature as the still is heated up, and these are known as the heads (or foreshots) – these are undesirable, as they either have unpleasant flavours or are dangerous to health if consumed, or both, so must be separated and discarded.

The first cut point therefore comes when the heads have condensed out of the still, and the master distiller judges the time is right to direct the flow of the fresh spirit into a second container, in order to capture the hearts of the spirit. This is the highest quality liquid which will go on to be matured in casks if being turned into whiskey or brandy.

As the temperature inside the still continues to increase, a second cut point is

reached, where the hearts have all been condensed and collected, and the remaining compounds in the still that are less volatile will begin to boil off. These are the tails (or feints) – they contain certain oily elements and are, like the heads, undesirable in the final liquid, so the master distiller must again redirect the flow of the distillate into a separate container, to be set aside.

Depending on the required finished style of the spirit, however, a small element of the heads and tails may be kept, mixed in with the hearts. Whereas this would be regarded as ‘impurities’ in many vodkas, for instance, for a whiskey or brandy destined to be aged in wood, a small quantity of the components (esters, congeners, phenols etc) of the heads and tails can add useful flavour dimensions to a spirit, with additional notes ranging from floral, herbal, citrus or fruity to smoky.

The precise point at which the cut is made during distilling is, therefore, critical to the character of an individual spirit or brand – and equally lies at the heart of the art (and science) of being a master distiller. D