Fuentes del Silencio

Miguel Ángel Alonso (a semi-retired doctor) and Maria José Galera (still a practicing surgeon), began their resurrection project of Castilla y Leon’s ancient wine culture and historic, high-altitude (800-1100m) pre-phylloxera vines in Jamuz at the eastern foot of the Galician Massif and the influence of Monte Teleno, one of northwest Spain’s highest mountains. Mencía vines (minimum age of 90 years, but some pre-phylloxera) are grown on flat, rocky terraces of quartzite cobbles and pulverized, slate-derived sand, silt and clay with a high quantity of metals. All grapes are hand-harvested and co-fermented in large tronconic wood vats (50ha+) with unique local natural yeasts with varying levels of stem inclusion and soft, infusion-style maceration by foot stomping and bare hand. These field blends are co-fermented (with each plot done separately) in old wooden tronconic tanks and then aged in various vats, from 500-l old French oak barrels to tronconic tanks. They don’t filter or fine any red wines.