After two years of extensive drought, 2024 brought almost double the annual rainfall and some respite to those dedicated to dry grown viticulture. Winter rains came in January with other important rain events followed throughout the growing season. Rainfall for August, September and October alone amounted to over 300 mm – around what we can expect for a whole year. This will play an important part in laying down reserves for 2025 and letting many vineyards recover long term.
Yields are down in general. As fecundity and fruitfulness of the 2024 crop was based on plant nutrition and water availability the year before, this has caused overall a lower grape yield (the 2024 fruit was laid down in the buds during last years drought). There was also poor fruit set in many high altitude Garnacha vineyards around Aragón.
Frost events on the 23rd and 24th of April reduced yields in up to 25% of our vineyards situated in the Ribota y Manubles valleys, but spring rains ensured good recovery of growth to varying extents.
Summer 2024 did not have the excessive heat and drought of 2022 and 2023 and so the wines will be fresher, more balanced and long lived. Veraison started around the 20th of July and the lower temperatures ensured a regular veraison and a start date for us on the 16th of September finishing by the first week of October.
Our Armantes vineyard (which is where our legendary El Cismático comes from) gave a great quality crop this year and 2024 will be one of the epic vintages of this long lived Old Vine Garnacha. Intense, wild and incredibly perfumed, this cleassic wine is just finishing a long and slow malolactic fermentation before going to barrel.
What must be noted with the so-called España Vaciada, (Empty Spain, a depopulation phenomenon), is that with less human activity in the countryside, pests have played a considerable part in damaging vineyards this year. Rabbits, boar and deer have run riot and, anecdotally, the bird population has been at its highest in our 21 years in Calatayud. We are not releasing our Valdelabarga in 2024 due to late frost and rabbits decimating the vineyard.
Following the droughts of 2022 and 2023, we took the decision to drill a well. Whilst the old vines managed remarkably well with the lack of water, what we did notice was that they suffered from a lack of water soluble nutrients. And the younger vines really struggled at times and it’s evident that going forward we need access to a water source. Hence the well. We had four water diviners come along to a vineyard in Cervera and they all agreed independently on the best place for this. We did all the paperwork and got the necessary permissions and in July we started drilling. It was all a bit Mad Max or steam punk but it really was fascinating to watch: so much so, we got sunburn.
In 2021, we planted Garnacha Gris and we made wine from it for the first time in 2024. We’re very excited about this and will keep you posted. The photo that accompanies this entry shows a mutation in a bunch from one of our Garnacha Gris vines.
Freshly pressed Garnacha Gris must.