Excellent harvest at the Uclés Appellation

Quality and quantity come together in the recent 2007 vintage

Thanks to the good weather conditions of the season, 2007 harvest at Uclés Appellation can be addressed as excellent. The absence of hail, together with a good Spring and the right amount of sun, have led the vines of this appellation to express their maximum potential.

The predominant climate in this area is of continental type regarding temperatures, but regarding rain it is closer to the Mediterranean standard. Inside this frame, the different types of reliefs in the area give way to the existence of numerous microclimates, directly influencing the vineyards and providing diversity. It must be stressed the almost total lack of summer rains, a fact that confers very characteristic and singular features to the different grape varieties and, consequently, to the wines

Authorised varieties for Wines from Uclés are Cencibel (Tempranillo), Garnacha Tinta, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. In this 2007 vintage, the degree of alcoholic and poliphenolic maturity and the sanitary level has been excellent in all them. Besides that, total production has increased notably: while in 2006 more than 200,000 kilos were harvested, this year the figures go up to 600,000 kilos of already sorted grapes.

This sorting or selection means that, according to the Appellation’s current regulations, only grapes coming from vines at least six years old and with maximum yields of 8,000 kg/ha can be used in the making of Wines from Uclés. In the same way, and aiming to ensure the vegetative equilibrium and obtaining the maximum grape expression in the wines, also the maximum production of the oldest vineyards is regulated: those above 15 years may not go beyond 6,500 kg/ha, while those above 40 tears cannot surpass 5,000 kg/ha.