SPAIN

BODEGA GÓTICA, DO  RUEDA

This is a third generation of viticultures in Rueda. They own 100 hectares of vines in the DO Rueda. They produce their white wines mainly from the indigenous Verdejo grape. For the last four years they have received awards and praise from critics and press inside and outside of Spain.

BARCO DEL CORNETA, BEATRIZ HERRANZ,  RUEDA, DO CASTILLA Y LEÓN

Beatriz has created Barco del Corneta from her family’s vineyards in La Seca (Valladolid) in the area of Cantarranas after several years of working within the local wine community. Her wines come from organic Verdejo grapes, fermented with local yeasts. She captures the essence of the Verdejo grape grown on sandy and stony soils, and her wine maintains the identity of the variety, the soil and the climate. She produces 10,000 bottles of Barco del Corneta, fermented in oak barrels and aged on its lees for 8 months. She also does 30,000 bottles of Cucu which is also aged on its lees for a considerable amount of time.

Máquina y Tabla is a small winemaking venture by a young couple: Oriol and Susana. Neither of them was born into a winemaking family, hence

they have started from scratch in 2012, by travelling through the remote areas of Castilla y Leon: discovering granitic terraces o Gredos, slopes of Bierzo and exploring the area on both sides of the river Duero (Toro and Rueda). They were searching for the most peculiar, old vineyards they could possibily find,  making connections with the local farmers. They have gradually assembled seven hectares of rented vineyards – from which they are now making their wines. All Oriol’s and Susana’s vineyards are cultivated biodynamically and the respect they have for the land, also transpires in the way the wines are made.
We start off with two wines from Máquina y Tabla, both from Toro: one of the best clarete we have had a chance to taste in a while and a spicy, full bodied red made with Tinta de Toro.

This family owned winery, located in Castrillo de la Vega, Burgos, BODEGAS AALTO Bodegas Aalto is one of the most innovative projects to emerge

DO Ribera del Duero, produces wines from their 35 hectares of vines. Vines are planted 800m above sea level. The yeald of grapes per vine is less than 2 kgs, in order to obtain the best quality and concentration, the harvest is carried out manually using 18kg baskets. Total production is 100,000 bottles.

Quinta Milú is the personal project of the grower Germán R. Blanco in Ribera del Duero, Spain. It is a small winemaking venture, which aspires to create wines that transmit their origin, a small town called La Aguilera, situated in the province of Burgos in the northeast of Spain. From old “Tempranillo” vineyards, cultivated in a traditional way and with respect to the environment which surrounds them. They work vine to vine, almost micro winemaking in each tank, with minimum intervention. Describing their winemaking using the word infusion rather than extraction and using some of the traditional techniques like foot treading they create wine that they love and that express themselves. The use of new wood is avoided.

BODEGAS AALTO, DO  RIBERA DEL DUERO

Bodegas Aalto is one of the most innovative projects to emerge from Spain in recent years. Since Mariano García and Javier Zaccagnini joined forces in 1999, the winery has acquired some of the best vineyards in Ribera del Duero, including 32 hectares in 3 different sub-regions two in the province of Valladolid and one in the province of Burgos. These estates have been carefully planted with old clones of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo adapted to suite Ribera del Duero’s climate), which offers the most charactecteristic aromas and flavours of the region and the style that Bodegas Aalto pursues.

BODEGAS Y VIÑEDOS ALNARDO, DO RIBERA DEL DUERO

Since 2006, Peter Sisseck, winemaker of Dominio de Pingus has worked with former Alonso del Yerro’s winemaker Pablo Rubio to identify the vineyards and growers with the most potential in the area. Their aim is to guide those growers step- by-step towards farming healthier vines, yielding better fruit. The duo is supporting each grower with their expertise in organic and biodynamic farming, as well as experimenting with some locally sourced, natural composts known as “preparations” in biodynamic approach. The result is bottled as PSI.

DOMINIO DE PINGUS, PETER SISSECK, DO RIBERA DEL DUERO

While other Spanish wines have achieved international recognition, Pingus is one of the very few that has joined the ranks of the world’s most iconic wines. Like Coche-Dury’s Corton Charlemagne, Guigal’s LaLa wines, or Giacomo Conterno’s Monfortino, Pingus is known and revered wherever great wine is discussed. Like those other esteemed names, Pingus has a quality that is often lacking in today’s “modern” wines—a sense of utter inviduality. For there is no other wine in the world today, that shares Pingus’ unique signature.