Valles de Sadacia

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The soils used for vine cultivation date from the Miocene and Quaternary, are brown, low in humus in their upper horizons, and generally contain limestone.
• The soils present no drainage problems, as they lack impermeable horizons, and have low water availability during summer.
• They have a well-balanced structure with a harmonious composition of sands, silts, and clays, making them highly suited to the cultivation of Moscatel and other white grape varieties.
• These are poor soils, deficient in organic matter and nitrogen, slightly alkaline owing to their calcium carbonate content, and with low levels of phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium.
• The delimited geographical area has a mean annual temperature of 12–14 °C and a rainfall index of 390 mm per year, lower than the rest of the autonomous community, especially during the ripening period.
• The area records an average of 2,221.84 sunshine hours per year, with a monthly average of 185.15 hours, July, August, and June being the sunniest months.
• The Autonomous Community of La Rioja, covering 5,000 km² and 174 municipalities, is divided between a lowland area running parallel to the river Ebro and a distinctly mountainous region.

• Moscatel was known in La Rioja as 'Supurado' or 'Moscatel Común', with references dating back to the seventeenth century, but it almost completely disappeared following the phylloxera outbreak of 1893 and was excluded from the Rioja DOCa.
• In 2003 the regional wine 'Valles de Sadacia' was created to revive Moscatel, taking its name from the pre-Roman word 'Sadacia' or 'Sidacia', a reference to the river Cidacos and the comarca of Arnedo.

• The wines may be dry, off-dry, sweet, or medium-sweet. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• The fruit displays a balanced aroma and flavour, a characteristic colour, and a higher soluble-solids content than in neighbouring areas, with sugar being the principal measure of internal quality.

• The absence of spring frosts, the limited nocturnal temperature variation, and the high levels of sunshine following winter dormancy promote the accumulation of carbohydrates and rapid fruit development.
• The progressive rise in temperatures, the high levels of sunshine, and the low rainfall, combined with poor soils, encourage a slow ripening process at véraison, with the colour changing from green to yellow tones.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the specification (pliego de condiciones).

All appellations in Spain

Sources

• National pliego de condiciones (PDF)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-ES-A0511
• Official trade body site — Gobierno de La Rioja — IGP Valles de Sadacia