We have already told here the extraordinary progression of Spanish wines in forgotten, abandoned or even virgin territories. Perhaps it is time to start advising those of very small and often very new producers. Because we see with great joy that at least some restaurants begin to offer wines from these new vineyards - many of which call themselves vignerons , with that typical French outland in our country -, and we see it with some concern because their names do not many clients will sound familiar, and perhaps no one will explain them to them, which will tend to take refuge in known brands and without surprises.
The small winemaker who also produces, bottles and sells his wines is not a regular character in our country . Often conditioned by the poor prices paid by the grapes, thousands of wine growers have preferred to take them to the cooperative of their town or, in more developed areas, sell them to one of the large wineries that produce hundreds of thousands or millions of bottles
It is not a very up-to-date statistic, but it is not far from reality, which we read some time ago: in France there are 30,000 winemakers / processors / bottlers, in Italy 20,000 and in Spain about 5,000 . If we compare the productions of the three countries, the conclusion is quite simple: here the wineries are much larger than in France and Italy, and the small producer of the Langas or the Loire hardly has colleagues of its size in Spain.
Well: I barely had. Despite the enormous difficulties, in the last decade they have launched into the adventure of making wine a series of brave men and women who, in addition, are united around the idea that respect for the land and the vineyard is what You must give your personality to your product, with a minimum of interventions and additives in the cellar.
The kick-off was given in 2016 by the Matador Manifesto promoted by Telmo Rodríguez , who is no longer a small producer, but who is an apostle of terroir wines. And there were vineyards of the Sierra de Gredos today famous as Dani Landi and Fernando García.
It is very interesting that even in Rioja, land of famous macro wineries, mini-projects with a lot of personality are flourishing.
Thus, Roberto Oliván , at the head of Tentenublo, is one of the young figures who embody the movement towards some Rioja wines glued to the terroir, with its flavors and essences, and not so much to the Riojan traditions of elaboration. In Tentenublo we find the most reliable example of a new way of facing viticulture and winemaking in Rioja. Try their extraordinary Escondite del Ardacho El Abundillano , from old garnacha vines, which is the variety that owes most, in its resurrection, to this young generation of winemakers.
Another example worthy of attention is Artuke. Arturo and Kike Blanco have given the wine project initiated a quarter of a century ago by their father, Miguel Blanco, a very personal and original course: biodynamics, recovery of vineyards of interest that were in trance of disappearance, production of terroir wines, to horse between Baños de Ebro and Ábalos. A Burgundy initiative in Rioja lands. His great wine: The Condemned , named because it comes from a very old vineyard that was about to start.
Another good sample: José Gil Vigneron , small and incipient personal project of the young José Gil Loza, also winemaker of Bodegas Olmaza, belonging to his family in the same Rioja town of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Formed in Spain and France, he declares himself an enthusiastic follower of Burgundy wines and a supporter of carbonic maceration. Try La Concova 2016 and see.
Jumping to the Southeast, the part of Spain with less recognition in terms of wines, the movement is remarkable. Point, for example, La Niña de Cuenca , of the López Orozco brothers, a small winery in the south of the province that stands out for raising its bobal wines exclusively in jars - another rediscovery of young people -, with excellent results, from the red wines to an excellent rosé of bobal, Velvet & Stone .
Bodega Fil.loxera & Cía, in Fontanars dels Alforins (Valencia), is where the Valencian sommelier Pilar Esteve leads, together with José Ramón Domenech and Joan B. Llobell, have set up this small wine project dedicated to the very authentic terroir wines and sincerity, of native castes barely rediscovered as the arch.
In the same area, Javi Revert is making wines of great purity and lightness like the Sensal . And a little further south, Pepe Mendoza, winemaker from the great Alicante family winery, has his own small project, Pepe Mendoza Casa Agrícola, with wines as provocative as El Veneno, which is not that, but a very cool monastrell.
And for unknown grapes, try the Alicante tour of the great winemaker Violeta Gutierrez de la Vega and the equally great sommelier Alberto Redrado in his small project Curii Grapes and Vineyards. There are two to choose from: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!
Passing to the southwest, one cannot miss the wines of Cota 45, which is the small winery set up by the winemaker from San Ramón Ibáñez in a tiny local of the Bajo de Guía de Sanlúcar de Barrameda - yes, between a terrace where you can order prawns and another-, in the mouth of the Guadalquivir in front of the Coto de Doñana. Ibáñez is committed to recovering the large albariza soils of the Jerez frame and the untitled wines - Crossroads, Pandorga, UBE -, as was the tradition there until a century and a half ago.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more- The Gourmet
The Gastronomic Why the Michelin Guide despises these temples of Spanish gastronomy
The Gastronomic Bucket dishes and cold months: why Spain is the country in Europe that is most popular with chickpeas
The GastronómadaHow much it costs to eat in the cheapest three Michelin stars in Europe