Navarra assessed

New focus, further investment and better wines: Navarra is in better shape than ever before, says Charlotte Hey

Keeping up with the Joneses, that has always been Navarra’s fate.  Having such an omnipotent neighbour as Rioja cannot be easy.  But that does not mean that the Navarrans have given up. No, señor.

They are more resilient than that.  Of course the producers realise that Navarra will never compete on the same scale as Rioja, given that their entire production accounts for only 2% of the total production of Spanish wines.

However, the potential is there to produce wines of equal quality which often represent much better value.  After having worked to promote a region for nearly four years, built up relationships and made friends, it is difficult for me to be objective.

But I have always believed that Navarra has the raw materials, the climate, soils, grape varieties and, most importantly, the producers to make wines that are able to compete on an international scale.

The real problem, since the end of the 1990s, has been image.  Well, probably much longer than that but there was a time between 1995 and 1998 when there was a bit of a buzz about the region, Navarra had started to catch the imagination.

Lamentably, price rises in Rioja gave some Navarrans a false sense of security and they followed their neighbours’ lead.  As a result, Navarran wines broke through key fighting price points and they lost market share. 

But could the tide be turning? After a period of relative obscurity, a number of wineries have re-addressed their proposition, looked at their wine styles and started to turn out some pretty delicious stuff.

A good example of a recent turnaround is Bodegas Señorio de Sarría.  As Guillermo Catalan, export and marketing manager, explains, "Two years ago we decided to move away from the more traditional style of wines more suited to the domestic market.

We reduced our stock capacity from 12,000 barrels to 6,000 in order to focus on improving the quality of our wines."  He continues, "We were once market leaders, but in recent years there has been a gradual sea change, hence the turnaround in style.

We are looking to create demand in the independent and on-trade sectors."  It seems that expansion and new projects are the order of the day. 

Bodegas Juliàn Chivite, brand leader and standard bearer for the region, has now completed its Arinzano project – perhaps one of the region’s most impressive recent developments.

Now fully operational, the estate boasts 300ha of vines, a beautifully designed winery and state-ofthe- art facilities.  Fernando Chivite, winemaker, says that his family "always knew there was potential to produce quality wine in the north of the region.

Navarra has so much potential for quality and diversity – you really haven’t seen anything yet." Chivite does admit one disadvantage for the region, though.  "There is still no one homogeneous message for us.

In a way, everyone is still fighting their own corner."  And while Navarra is well-received, the region still has a problem in promoting a unified message to it’s export markets. 

Navarra doesn’t have the simple visual associations with which the consumer can associate, the kangaroos or koalas, the Eiffel Tower or Breton T-shirts.

Yes it’s got bulls and Ernest Hemingway but the politically correct probably won’t go for that image.  Javier Ochoa, owner and winemaker at Bodegas Ochoa, believes there is another factor that will also be crucial to the region’s future success.

"Navarra is still looking for its place in the international market. As yet, we haven’t found it. Some wines out there are aggressive in the market but that distorts the image that I think Navarra should have or promote.

Which means that in essence there are two Navarra’s, differentiated by price.  We need to bring the two closer together, stop selling at the bulk end and concentrate on quality winemaking."

For many, the future direction of Navarran wines remains to be seen.  As Matthew Hudson, public relations manager, Allied Domecq UK says, "In a sense, Navarra’s plight is similar to most other Spanish regions in that they lack some distinction in the minds of many consumers.

It has a number of possible directions to choose from, although whether it will be as successful as Rioja in establishing an identity with a distinct style of wine, remains to be seen.

It may be that the region, still relatively young, instead sees its diversity as a strength. Ultimately, the challenge is very much as it is for any other region."  What it boils down to for Navarra is a continued long-term investment in export markets.

Quality is a key driver, as is maintaining price consistency in the market.  The wines of  Navarra have the potential; what the producers now need to do is follow the lead of regional leaders like Chivite, Ochoa, Castillo de Monjardín and Nekeas, then Navarra will start to get back on the map.