Bodega Altolandon by Rosalia - Garnacha

• Vintage: 2015
• Origin: Castilla-La Mancha/Manchuela, Spain
• Grape: Grenache (Garnacha)
• Taste Guide: Medium-Full bodied, smooth, dry and oaked for 8 months so not overly. Vivid picota cherry red in colour, the nose is clean, with lots of mature red fruit, candy fruit, floral notes and a delicious balsamic end. Agile in the mouth with grippy and ripe tannins and pleasing fresh acidity. Reminded me of a decent, well made Rioja.
• 75cl - 14% - Traditional Cork Opening
• Food match: Semi cured cheese, cold meats, as well as veal stew and white meats.
• RRP and average price range elsewhere: £22-£28

Producer Profile

Owner & winemaker, Rosalia Molina, makes organic wines in one of Spain's highest altitude wineries. Her mission is to make wines that express the typicity of DO Manchuela: the vineyard, the altitude and the varieties planted.

This is a climate on the edge of what is possible: at 1,100 metres above sea level, the grapes experience a large diurnal range that encourages even ripening and helps to retain natural acidity. Rosalia's vineyards are certified organic, she uses only natural fertilisers, promoting biodiversity by welcoming chickens, sheep and pigs from local farms to roam the vineyards freely. Grapes are hand harvested and vinified as naturally as possible with native yeasts and little other intervention. The wines are then aged in clay amphora and some in French oak to give texture and complexity.

Viticulture

From 100 year old, pre phylloxera indigenous Garnacha grapes in DO Manchuela. Clay and calcareous soils with larger stones on top. These old vines with low yields increase the concentration of phenolic compounds and produce dark, more pleasantly tannic wines.

Winemaking

Alcoholic fermentation is managed in 500l open top barrels and amphora, with manual punching down to extract colour and aromas. Alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous to maximise the natural potential of the grapes. When alcoholic fermentation is complete, the must is pressed directly to French oak barrels (50%) and amphora (50%) where the malolactic ferment takes place, also in a natural and spontaneous way. The elevage takes around 8 months in 300 littres French oak barrels and also in amphoras. Stabilisation is also natural, as during the coldest months temperatures can go to minus 15º C.