The rufete grape
Grape variety of the western zone of the Iberian Peninsula, mainly in the Mountain range of Salamanca and almost only in testimonial way in Zamora and a smaller proportion in Cáceres.
The plant of the Rufete slightly has a fallen bearing when reaching full maturity.
The leaves of the plant of the Rufete has a similar look as of the Cabernet Sauvignon plant.
The nerves of the leaves are of reddish color. The grapes are of middle size. The skin is fine, providing a certain sensitivity to diseases as Botrytis. The color of the grains is bluish dark with metallic reflections. If the plant is in balance it provides a very aromatic grape with memories to raspberry. It has strong tannins that provides good power and a good raising structure. It gives better quality in grounds of guijarroso soil, oriented to the south.
It is important to control the production, otherwise aside from giving us less sugar and color, it provides quite green tannins. With the new technology we use nowadays the grape can produce really elegant and wonderful wines.