Forget the fires, forget the 10% increase in tariffs to the United States, forget the climate crisis, forget the rising prices of materials. Spanish wine moves at two speeds. On one side the jewels and on the other the more “common” wine.
Analysts place the Rías Baixas as the appellation where the most expensive hectare of wine in Spain is found, above the old vineyards of La Rioja. The atomization, which amounts to 4,000 hectares and 16,000 owners, contributes to prices that cross the vault of heaven in the moonlight.
Pablo Álvarez, CEO of Tempos Vega Sicilia, launched his Deiva winery, located in Crecente, in Condado de Tea, in the upper reaches of the Miño River, around Salnés, Sanxenxo, Cambados and O Grove. The climate is not the difficulty, nor the plagues of downy mildew or powdery mildew. It’s another one. “Assembling a hectare here is not easy at all. In Condado we have ten units and we paid between 170,000 and 240,000 euros per hectare. Incredible. They even asked us 300,000 euros and we said no. Even so, they didn’t change the price in the slightest,” says Pablo Álvarez. The situation has reached a level that borders on the unthinkable. It looks like a surrealist painting by Maruja Mallo. Imagine. It’s a real case. “A man owns a vineyard that is the garden of his house and if you want it you have to buy the property from him too,” says Álvarez. Those ten hectares alone cost between 1.7 and 2.4 million euros. Never had a vineyard cost so much on average in that region. There have been exceptional cases of 300,000 euros per hectare of old vines of enormous quality in La Rioja. Unique. But one swallow never makes a summer.
Every farm is a world and every hectare its land. The DO Rías Baixas lowers this average, analyzed by Álvarez, and sets the price between 110,000 and 140,000 euros. And it takes about four years to produce it, while it’s all expenses. “This price includes the purchase of the land, the planting authorizations and the preparation of the land. If the bunches grow on trellises it varies between 95,000 and 125,000 euros”, summarizes a spokesperson for the Designation of Origin. The reasons for the decline are countless, if the soil is fertile it will produce more, and if you are looking for an “exclusive” wine, vines of this volume may not be suitable. But experts talk about the edges of an equilateral triangle to determine the quality of each hectare. Take note. Soil, exposure (solar) and type of clone.
The problem with Spanish wine topography rules is that they don’t exist. Every fan will make their own distinctions. Whether the harvest is manual or mechanical, the difficulty of harvesting in steep areas (Canary Islands, Ribeira Sacra, Priorat), the fashion (first Albariño and then Godello) or, as we have seen, parcel segregation. “The key is supply and demand together with a spectacular wine,” describes Lalo Antón, director of Bodegas Izadi (Villabuena de Álava, Rioja Alavesa), Vetus (Toro), Finca Viñacreces (Ribera de Duero) and Orben (Rioja). And as if destemming, it separates the bunches. There are two “terroirs”. The old vineyards (50-80 years old) are spectacular, and the young ones (15 years old with a high yield). In the first case it is unusual to exceed 120,000 euros. Although some operations have reached 175 thousand euros. And in rare cases we have seen it reach up to 300,000 euros. “Another thing is that you need half a hectare and you have to pay 40,000 or 60,000 euros,” he specifies. But there is a behavior that shows that the land and its vines grow expensive. Before, any farmer was happy to sell them, now – if they are good – he prefers to rent them and earn an annual income. Buying quality vines is becoming increasingly difficult.
Everything becomes complicated when it is produced in multiple cuts. Bodegas Mauro produces in four DOs and one outside the framework. It manages 13 wines and 260 hectares of owned vineyards. The patriarch of Ribera de Duero, Mariano García, 82, who uses 32 vintages of Vega Sicilia and essential wines such as Mauro, San Román or Aalto, must complete his particular lego every year to reach a production of around 750,000 bottles. Abbreviation of the question they have. “But the land gives what it gives,” says García. The purchase is the responsibility of the sons: Alberto and Eduardo. And, if it is possible, they will not even appear in the vineyard. A recognized name, like Pablo, is an excuse to raise prices. Despite this, the García family obtains, from various crossroads, the orography of the cost of the vineyards where they harvest. Ribera (40,000-80,000 euros), Rioja (60,000-100,000), Bierzo (50,000-70,000) and Toro (20,000-30,000). Regardless, a winery seeks its own balance and values. The same area has very different prices depending on the characteristics of the hectare. The value, for example, of Alión (Tempos Vega Sicilia) cultivated in the Duero varies – according to Pablo Álvarez – between 60,000 and 80,000 euros per hectare. “It’s much cheaper than the Rías Baixas,” he admits.
Each producer (as we have seen) draws its budget and its costs, but Galicia has created an economic empire. Maybe in small farms, but in an empire. Perhaps, due to the distance, low production and the entry of pests this year, the vine does not take root cheaply even in the Canary Islands. The Ministry of Agriculture provides the figure of 71,767 euros per hectare. The islands are lucky, in normal times, even for winemakers.
Other latitudes are those of Peter Sisseck. For years now, with Pingus, it has been part of Spain’s wine history. The Danish agronomist who arrived in Valladolid in the 1990s has always been sincere. “Since my production method is new, I don’t know how old my wines will be in 30 years,” he says. When a bottle of Pingus exceeds 1,400 euros, it is an act of faith to give it time. But it is the material that gives shape to the wine. The passing of the clock hands. A constant ticking. Sisseck is direct. “The price is set by the land, by the vineyard. If it is good and you get a very good wine, it must be expensive. But in Spain, unlike France, it is not regulated. This is the jungle. The law of supply and demand,” he laments. In Bordeaux – there are around 220,000 hectares planted, the winemaker estimates – none of the 2,000 classified hectares have been planted. They give up the low quality ones. “In Ribera they were paid 100,000 euros for a wonderful hectare and others are not even suitable for planting potatoes,” admits Peter. And he adds: “I have never forced anyone to sell at a certain price.” And he gives up: “Spain needs an organization like Bordeaux”.
The best analogy is to think of a hectare as a sovereign country with its own borders. In Sanlúcar de Barrameda the Finca Corrales sherry is produced (up to 40,000 euros per hectare in Cadiz) and in Quintanilla de Onísimo (Valladolid) the classic Pingus. Here a quality hectare, for a great wine, can cost around 80,000 euros. In the priory an old vineyard costs around 60,000 euros and if you want something exceptional it can reach 120,000 euros. And in Bierzo it is between 40,000 and 30,000 euros. The problem, for a winemaker, who asks to remain anonymous, is that there are slopes and the harvest is difficult. And they are uprooting the Mencía to plant, for example, godello, which is the fashion. We are so close to France and so far from God. In Burgundy, 80 million euros were paid for a hectare of Grand Cru. Meanwhile, buyers of castles The once abundant fourth- or fifth-level Chinese disappear from Bordeaux like shadows. In any case, confirms Quim Vila —founder of Vila Viniteca, one of the most prestigious companies in the wine sector—, this year Bordeaux has lowered prices by 30%, last year by 20%. “People have to adapt to the market, to less consumption, and neighboring areas like Jumilla or Yecla are more worried about selling than acquiring vines,” he says. And he warns: “Prices will not increase, winemakers will bear the loss of margin.” We will see. The Sun rises for all vines.
