Bodegas Navarro, S.A.
MAKING AND AGEING
The two most used systems of maturing or ageing are:
The must used for the biological ageing has to have the highest quality and should be kept for at least one year in tanks before going into the oak barrels into the top row, or “criadera” as it is locally known. Starting this way its ageing.
BIOLOGICAL AGEING UNDER “FLOWER” YEAST VEIL
The barrels that have a bigger capacity and stave thickness are those nearest the ground so they can support the weight of the increasing number of barrels piled on top of them.
These barrels are filled to 4/5 of their capacity. A few days later, small and very thin white veils start to appear on the surface of the liquid which, due to their shape, are reminiscent of a flower. This flower begins to increase very slowly in size until forming a complete veil, which only covers completely the surface of the liquid in contact with air. This yeast has nothing to do with other substances of similar texture, which, as a misfortune for the wine and its producer, can appear on the surface causing acidification, loss of alcohol and other damages.
Most of cordovan flower yeasts, which are spontaneous in each area, are of the Saccharomyces type. There are more than two hundred known species with diverse names and appearing conditions. Such diversity leads us to simply talk of general flower yeast in order to avoid confusion. The transformation that this provokes on the starting wine is notable, having found in Finos several dozen new products that were not found in the original wine. At the same time other components such as glycerine, malic acid and volatile acidity decrease considerably or even disappear.
OXIDATIVE AGEING
We call oxidative ageing when the flower slowly disappears or never forms properly because of an artificial increase in the alcoholic degree. Under these circumstances, the wine is transformed due to physiochemical phenomena. This is the case of the Amontillados, Olorosos, Rayas, Pedro Ximénez, etc.
Detailed phenomena:
Physical type phenomena: insolubility, gas given off, wood solutions produced...
Chemical phenomena: oxidation, aldehydification, sterification and polysaccharide hydrolysis.
Physiochemical processes: oxide-reduction, polymerisation, colloid formation and flocculation.
Biochemical processes: cellular autolysis in wines which have previously undergone biological ageing such as the Amontillados.
To the sight, the wine colour slowly oxidises changing towards gold yellow, mahogany and topaz tones. When smelt, we can notice a light tone of oak wood with a slight spicy clove, cinnamon and vanilla flares. The smells in the Amontillados are even sharper.
The sweet wines become dark, almost black tones and, when comparing the smells with young wines, a wide range of aromas are perceived. These aromas are dates, chocolate, coffee, cocoa...
There is no other similar ageing process in the world. Its creation and use are exclusive to Andalusia and are a part of its culture. Wine has always been the secret inspiration drive, the magnet for our visitors and the generous essence of our land.
THE CRIADERA AND SOLERA SYSTEM
The Article 32.2 of the actual Montilla-Moriles Denomination of Origin Regulations determines that the maximum volume of wine that can be annually drawn from wine barrel is 40%. For example, for a 30 “arrobas” barrel (an arroba equals 16 litres) this means that 12 arrobas can be sold each year (equivalent to 192 litres).
The wine drawn from the Solera is replaced with wines from the first “criadera”. The space left in the latter will be replaced with wines from the second “criadera” and so on until reaching the last one which contains the younger wine.
The twelve “arrobas” we mentioned earlier are not drawn at the same time, but are spread throughout three or four operations per year. The refilling operation is called “rocío” and the drawing and replacing action is called running the scale (“correr la escala”). The aim is to obtain uniform wines in order to maintain a constant quality wine in the market, without ups and downs and, of course, not to depend on qualities or defects of a particular harvest.
The traditional procedure of running the scale has high labour costs. Due to this it has been partially mechanised, although this does not affect the final quality.
The described system, apart from maintaining the quality, makes the biological ageing possible in the case of the Fino wines as the new micronutrients from the young wine’s yeast, the aerating caused by the refill and the small oxygen additions benefit the yeast veil. In the Amontillados and Olorosos the aerating accelerates the ageing.
You may be wondering what the age of the Fino or Amontillado wine you are drinking is. For example, the wine coming from a four row system set up twenty years ago from which 25% is drawn four times a year will have an average age of four years.
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Our origins
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Denomination of Origin
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Making and ageing
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Climate and the soil
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