The WINES of SPAIN

SPAIN CONTINUES TO OVERPERFORM, providing more wines of real interest and quality than the most optimistic critic could reasonably hope for. Why do I say that? For a start, as indigenous grape varieties go, Tempranillo is Spain’s only class act. Furthermore, although most Spanish vineyards are not totally lacking in potential (otherwise we would not have witnessed the revolution in Spanish wines that we have), there are no really world-class terroirs to be found beyond parts of Rioja, Penedés, and the Ribera del Duero. Yet the number of truly fine Spanish wines continues to increase, with at least as much excitement at the lower end of the quality scale as at the higher end. As recently as the 1980s, with the general exception of Rioja, most Spanish wines were either oxidized or oversulfured. Never has an established, traditional winemaking nation got its act together so quickly and thoroughly as Spain.