Description
About Calatayud and Garnacha Calatayud in the Northeastern corner of Spain is the home of Garnacha (in France “Grenache”) first cultivated in the 7th Century and brought to the Mediterranean and the rest of Southern Europe in the 13th and 14th C. This grape was made for the hot, dry climate of Calatayud which has the highest altitude of any Spanish growing region. That altitude is prized by wine growers as the huge swing in temperature from day to night (up to 60 degrees!) affords both great ripening for body, flavor and finer tannins while retaining lively acidity for balance and freshness. These vineyards were planted between 1925 and 1990. As you can see these are indeed Old Vines, bush trained with massive trunks copious leaf canopies so they thrive in this harsh environment. Everything is traditionally dry farmed and the wine making hasn’t changed much in the last 13 centuries either!
About this wine: Tradition is key. A pied de cuvee is used to start fermentation. This i s like a sourdough starter for wine using ambient yeast and even yeast from local wildflowers. It is a through back to when all wine was organic and natural. aging is 18 months in larger barrels, 500 & 600L Puncheons and demi-muids. The wine has great juicy freshness while showing good minerality from the diversity of the soils and complexity from the natural techniques and the vine age and local climate. Really an outstanding value.