Your shopping bag is empty
Go to the shopclose
Vinos de Madrid
Bodega Marañones.
Vinos de Madrid, Sierra de Gredos, Castilla Y Leon, Madrid, Granacha, Albillo, Albillo Real - Organic
Bodega Marañones is in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, a sub-region of the Vinos de Madrid in the Sierra de Gredos, almost alpine like, it’s remote and not what you might expect this far south. There is a unique combination of altitudes, weather and terroirs that defines the potential of the Gredos. High sided valleys plus the valley floor, weathered slate, granite, schist soils, hot summers, cold winters and drying winds push the old, indigenous varieties to their limit.
It’s here that wine maker Fernando Garcia creates wines that are fresh, elegant and even delicate. These are among some of the more elegant Spanish wines, wines that buck the trend for fruit forward, oaky reds and ripe, tropical whites. The wines of Bodgea Marañones are anything but. The reds are pale, herby and almost pinot-like Granachas and the whites are rich satisfyingly nervy, textured Albillos. Apart from being the wine maker at Marañones Fernando is one part of the trio that founded Comando G, a collaboration that helped elevate our awareness of what Spain’s hardest working grape, Garnacha, is capable of.
Fernando follows the principles of biodynamic winemaking so it is no great surprise that his old vine Garnacha and Albillo wines have balanced freshness, acidity and tannin plus sense of place as a result of the organic farming and biodynamic principles practiced in the vineyards and winery. Vineyards that are aged between 30-80 years old and are organically farmed across five different parcels to give a pure expression of each variety and terroir.
Marañones farm 20 hectares of old bush vines on granite hillsides and slopes that are 650 to 850 metres above sea-level. Non-irrigated steep plots are planted in narrow spaces where mules are used to plough the organic vineyards and everything is hand-harvested. Vinification is done separately with indigenous yeasts and whole bunches, including stems, for the reds and wines are aged in used French oak barrels and large casks.
All the wines are produced in very small quantities. The two whites, Picarana and the single vineyard Pies Descalzos, are made from Albillo Real and aged in oak. Both ooze personality and show well-defined fruit and a pronounced saline finish.
The Picarana comes from 4 different plots and has a deliciously full mouth feel, ripe fruits and dried herbs with balanced acidity. Pies Descalzos, from a tiny, elevated vineyard with long sun hours and shockingly poor pink granite soil, exhibits enticing minerality with balanced acidity. A tight, dry Albillo that has the potential to develop further in the bottle.
Terroir plus the unique character of the Gredos Garnacha (different to those found in Navarra, Rioja and Cataluña) are both evident in Marañones wines. The 30,000 Maravedies is 90 % Garnacha and 10% field blend of local varieties, giving a floral, fruity character with a pleasant minerality, nicely structured and easy drinking.
The Marañones is pure Garnacha, from 3 hillside plots, exhibiting ripe red fruits and mountain herbs on the nose. It’s fleshy with crunchy fruit and a granular texture that is from both grape and soil.
Labros is a single vineyard wine from further down the slopes, on alluvial soils, which give the wine a Mediterranean feel. Fuller, with ripe fruits and tannins, and that bit grippier and textured.
The Pena Caballera is also from a single plot, the highest at 850m, that’s north facing. Given the cooler microclimate the grapes are slower growing and the stony soils are shallow, both contributing to a wine of finesse, with good acidity and balanced ripe black fruits with a long, elegant finish.
We are delighted to be working directly with Fernando and the team at Bodega Marañones and sharing their wines with wine lovers here in Ireland.
We are loving the wines from Bodega Marañones and we are not the only ones.
These beauties have been receiving fantastic press since arriving with us here at ELY.
John Wilson of the Irish Times absolutely loves the 'Picarana'.
Picarana - "Full-bodied with rich savoury stone fruits, given life by a vein of mineral acidity and a chalky dry finish. One of my favourite white wines. Drink alongside a fennel-scented roast of pork."