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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.
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.
VINEYARD DETAILS
Las Quintas is a blend of 100-130-year-old partially own-rooted Mencía (85%), Alicante Bouschet (13%), and Palomino and Doña Blanca (2%) from recently recovered abandoned vineyards now under organic farming. The soils are slate-derived with quartzite cobbles and clay at 850-1000m altitude.
CELLAR NOTES
80% whole-cluster natural fermentation in open-top, old French oak barrels and 30-50hl tronconic vats with the initial extracted by foot prior to fermentation followed by hands-off infusion for most of the 28-60 days on skins prior to pressing. It’s aged in non-new French oak barrels. First sulfites are added at crush and the final wine is unfined but lightly filtered.
This is the most sensual and upfront wine in the range from the moment the cork is pulled and, like Las Jaras, it doesn’t let up for hours into the next day. It is more deep and slightly lower in frequency than Las Jaras. Compared to La Gándara, it’s more middle of the road on fruit and universal appeal. La Gándara is eccentric, bright, deep and singular.
