DO Campo de Borja historical Garnachas project

Old Garnacha vines in Campo de Borja, Spain.

Anna Harris Noble explains the significance of DO Campo de Borja joining the Old Vine Conference as our first Regional member.

As Spanish Regional Ambassador for the Old Vine Conference, I was delighted when D.O. Campo de Borja became the first Spanish Designation of Origin to join as a member, in 2023, especially as it will give us access to the fascinating research into old vine Garnacha that the region is undertaking.

The Empire of Garnacha

Located in Aragón, Eastern Spain, the region is known as the “Empire of Garnacha.”  This grape variety not only makes up the vast majority of the plantings (57%), but its development as a cultivar is also closely linked to the local Monastery of Veruela, where it was grown as far back as 1145. 

There are currently 3,265 hectares of Garnacha Tinta vines in the region of which over 414 hectares were planted prior to 1988, making them more than thirty-five years old. However, this is only a small percentage of what existed last century and every year several old vine plots are lost, representing a loss of irreplaceable viticultural heritage.

The Historic Garnachas project

Under the title of “Garnachas Históricas”, a work and research group has been set up. It has presented a project to the Regional Administration of Aragon and the EU to promote old vine Garnacha and preserve the historic Garnacha vines that still remain in the territory.  

The group is made up of the largest wineries in the DO that account for +95% of vineyards (Bodegas Ainzón, Bodegas Aragonesas and Bodegas Borsao), and the Universities of Zaragoza (Dr. Vicente Ferreira) and Navarra (Dr. Gonzaga Santesteban). They will carry out two very interesting lines of research as detailed below:

• How vine age affects ageing capacity and flavour development
  UNIZAR (the University of Zaragoza), through the Laboratory of Wine Aromas and Oenology of the Faculty of Sciences, is undertaking a 4-year study (2022-2025) to "scientifically demonstrate why grapes from plots of Historic Garnachas have better aging capacity than grapes from young vineyard plots.”

• The accurate certification of old vines The second study is being led by Professor Luis Gonzaga Santesteban at the University of Navarra to develop a specific methodology to “scientifically certify” the age of the old Garnacha vineyards.

Methodology

To carry out the viticultural study and to create the wines to be analysed, 6 plots of historical vineyards between 30 and 90 years old (including a plot of unknown age) have been selected, belonging to the cooperatives of Magallón, Pozuelo de Aragón, Fuendejalón, Ainzón, Borja and Tabuenca, located between the lowest area of the DO, Ribera del Ebro (300m), and the highest, Somontano del Moncayo (900m).

The first grape samples were taken in 2022 and analysis is underway, with the aim of presenting the first results in 2025. The technical team that makes up this project includes the oenology and viticulture departments of the three wineries (Ainzón, Aragonesas and Borsao), the two universities and the technical and administrative department of the CRDO Campo de Borja.

Old vine Garnachas

The Consejo Regulador has been hosting a series of tastings of Old Vine Garnachas to promote the project.  I attended a recent tasting at The Wines from Spain tasting in which Peter McCombie MW presented a range of different wines from sites across the region at different vineyard altitudes, from Ribera del Ebro (300m) to Somontano del Moncayo (900m) from vineyards of 30-40 to over 100 years of age.

Campo de Borja is known for its intense, Mediterranean style Garnachas, and these were no exception with up to 16% abv. Even so, the concentration and quality of the fruit gave balance and the altitude, freshness. The styles and flavours varied greatly from the violets, smoke, raspberry and white pepper of Prados Pagos de Moncayo 2021 to the more restrained savoury notes of Cabriola by Borsao 2018 and the cinnamon, dark fruit and chocolate of Veratón 2020 from Bodegas Alto Moncayo.

For more information:

We will be introducing José Ignacio Gracia from the DO Campo de Borja at our Old Vine Conference community workshop on 27 April 2023 and look forward to further updates as the research progresses.

For more information on the region, visit: docampodeborja.com

Written by: Anna Harris-Noble