Norrel Robertson, first Master of Wine in Spain
NORREL ROBERTSON (MW): «I decided to take up residence in Calatayud because the quality of its old vines really impressed me»
A Scotsman in love with Aragón, winemaker, founder of «The Flying Scotsman» and the first Master of Wine (MW) in Spain, this is Norrel Robertson. A Garnacha lover who decided to take up residence, 17 years ago, in Calatayud because «the quality of their old vines really impressed me».
Norrel was awareded the title of Master of Wine in 2000. Since then, five experts living in Spain and one Spaniard, who lives in Belgium, have obtained it. «It is a challenge to achieve the title of Master of Wine, as it recognizes that you have achieved a broad knowledge of wine from the terroir, the production, the commercial side and communication. There are already 393 of us in 29 countries and I hope there will be more in Spain in the coming years», said Norrel Robertson.
Norrel has worked in different countries such as Chile, Portugal, Italy or Australia, but, after traveling halfway round the world, he travelled to Calatayud to develop a project he was carrying out for a British company and saw in the lands of the Zaragoza municipality «a magnificent opportunity both personal as professional». «The Garnacha is the heritage of this region, something of which the Aragonese should be very proud. Aragón has some of the oldest vineyards in Spain and the climate is ideal for making wines with a lot of personality», added the Scotsman.
Of the Aragonese wines, Norrel highlights the altitude from which their vineyards come and their intensity due to the climatic contrast. He also poins out that Garnacha and Macabeo are indigenous varieties common to all the Protected Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications of Aragón, but he recognizes that there is a great diversity of wines in the Aragonese region and «this is something to celebrate».
Norrel has just been invested in the “Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino “(GOCV), a title of utmost importance to him. «It is a great honour to have received this recognition from all the colleagues in this profession. I have always wanted to communicate what Aragón, and specifically Calatayud, has to offer. The area is a little treasure and I hope I have brought something positive to my adopted community and country», he said. GOCV is an organization founded in 1985 by ICEX (Foreign Trade Institute) with the aim of recognizing and rewarding the most outstanding members of the sector for their achievements in the education, promotion and trade of Spanish quality wines in the United Kingdom.
The Master of Wine recognizes that the last quarter of a century has been very important for Aragonese wines to become known in international markets. Above all, Garnacha wines are «highly appreciated in Great Britain and the United States».
Norrel also points out that the value for money of Aragonese wines is «unbeatable» compared to other wines from Spain and the rest of the world. «The character and intensity of the wines also stands out», he warned.
This great lover and defender of the Garnacha grape highlights its ability to withstand drought, its roughness and finesse which, as he explains, «no other varieties have». In short, Norrel assures that Garnacha «never gives up and is an iron hand in a velvet glove».
The Scotsman says that his table can never be without one of his wines, although he has always highly valued the reds from the Rhon very highly, something that, according to him, has served as a source of inspiration to make his own.
At the moment, Norrel Robertson has 36 hectares of which 25 are planted, mostly with Garnacha, Macabeo and Mazuelo, better known as Cariñena (Carignan grape).
«Many plos tend to go to singular wines such as Manda Huevos or Mazuelo El Plano. On the other hand, others are blended for the wines El Mondongo, Es lo que hay or El Cismático. The approach is to get wines from the plot and also to combine plots that provide the same terroir», he explained.
The oldest vineyard that it owns is called Caña Andrea and dates back to 1908. Located in the municipality of Villarroya de la Sierra, it is located at an altitude of 771 meters above sea level and is a post-phylloxera plot of Garnacha, Provenchón -more known as Bobal-, Moristel, Garnacha blanca and other indigenous varieties. «We have three centenary plots, but we must recognize that the wine-growing register is not very accurate in Spain or Aragón. For example, one of our centenary plots had a planting date in the 1970s, but from the mix of grapes it has, we can be determine that it was planted just after phylloxera. In other words, at the beginning of the 20th century. Surely, when they registered the plot in the 80s, they asked the former owner how old he was and he replied: 74 years That is the date they wrote down as the year of planting. There are many cases like this, although right now there are tools to justify the age of the plots, up to a certain extent, by studying aerial photos of the 1940s and 1950s, on the Internet», said Norrel.
Norrel Robertson is also a great lover of the Pinot Noir variety, which is very little cultivated in Spain, but which, fundamentally, he is attracted by «that seductive side that is similar to Garnacha».