THE WORKHORSE – Mazuelo (Cariñena)
Mazuelo makes up around 2% of La Rioja’s red grape plantings. In most of the wine world, this grape is called Carignan or Cariñena, but in Rioja it goes by Mazuelo.
Tempranillo-heavy wines from Rioja sometimes include small amounts of Mazuelo to add acidity, color and tannin. The grape has high tannins, high acidity and is relatively full-bodied.
That toughness is exactly why blenders want it. In less fertile areas, with good soils, old vines and limited production, quality wines can be obtained. Mazuelo needs higher heat to ripen, with late budding and mid-season to late ripening. It’s particularly sensitive to powdery mildew.
Outside of Catalonia (where it’s more common as Cariñena), Mazuelo is mostly a secondary blending variety in Rioja, though a few producers, such as Marqués de Murrieta, do make varietal examples.
Most drinkers will never taste a 100% Mazuelo wine. But in every Gran Reserva where it appears, even in small amounts, it’s doing the structural work that allows those wines to age for decades.