El Risco 2020, Cataluyad

Pronounced plum, raspberry and herbs.
Complex notes of spice and leather. Medium
body with fine ripe tannins. Wild berries give
way to a smooth spicy finish.

Calatayud was a major viticultural hub at the beginning of the 20th century with over 40,000 hectares of vineyards. Today only 3,000 remain, and farmers continue to abandon the land in what is considered an impoverished region. This has left a treasure chest of old vineyards, it’s not uncommon to find 80+ year old vines, which are able to withstand the warm and dry climate as well as its infamous strong northerly El Cierzo wind.

Grapes are handpicked. The three varietals are co-fermented with 20% whole bunch. Alcoholic fermention with wild yeasts lasts for around seven days with the temperature not exceeding 23 degrees. There’s gentle extraction followed by a short maceration. The wine is pressed off the skins into tank using only free run wine before it undergoes full malolactic fermentation. The wine is cold stabilised and given a fine earth filtration prior to bottling.