A New Pago

It can sometimes be difficult to keep up with the world of wine as wine laws change and new wine regions are introduced. That is one reason why I read several different wine magazines as well as online sources, to keep current on such changes. I recently learned of one such change in a country I love, Spain.

The Spanish word Pago generally refers to a single-estate vineyard. Yet not all Pagos are the same. In 2003, the Spanish Denominacion de Origen system, which regulates wine regions in Spain, was modified to add a special D.O. Pago for a very limited number of estates that met certain qualifications.

Decanter (May 2008) has an article by John Radford called "Pago Pago!" which describes the Pago system, discusses the latest estate to be granted D.O. Pago status, and suggests other estates which may acquire D.O. Pago status in the near future. It is an interesting article and well worth reading.

To acquire D.O. Pago status, an estate must meet certain criteria.

• The wine must be made only from grapes of the single estate
• The winery must be located on that estate
• The estate must have an international reputation for quality
• The wine must have a premium price
• And it must comply with certain quality assurance regulations

The estate can then petition its primary D.O. for Pago status though the final approval must be given by the Ministry of Agriculture. Not all regions will allow D.O. Pago status. In fact, for awhile, there was only one region that would grant such status.

In the Spanish wine course I took in March, we were taught that there were only four D.O. Pagos, and all were located in the La Mancha region. These included Dominio De Valdepusa, Finca Elez, Pago Guijoso, and Dehesa del Carrizal. But Radford points out that there is now a fifth D.O. Pago and it is not from La Mancha.

Near the end of 2007, D.O. Pago status was granted to Señorío de Arínzano, which is located in Navarra. Bodegas Chivite acquired the Señorío de Arínzano estate in 1988. The estate grows Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. The wines are marketed under the Chivite Colleccion 125 label.

Radford also presents some predictions as to which estates may become the next D.O. Pagos. He feels that now that a second region has permitted a D.O. Pago, others may decide to opt for that option as well. He provides a list of potential estates that you can check out in his article.