winemaking

Grapes come from vines 60-plus years old, growing in a combination of slate, clay and granite soils. Table-sorted and destemmed followed by gentle crushing. The must is vatted and undergoes cold pre-fermentation maceration. Afterwards, spontaneous alcoholic fermentation occurs with native yeast for 12-13 days at a controlled low temperature (max 20 ºC). After devatting and lightly pressing, malolactic fermentation occurs in stainless steel with select lactic bacteria for four weeks. The wine is barrel aged for 11 months in 50% French and 50% American oak, combining light- and medium-toasted barrels.

winemaking

Grapes harvested from 80-plus year-old vines grown on various plots and soils. Select vine orientation with strictly controlled yield. Late, manual harvest using 18kg crates. Table-sorted, and gently pressed. The must is vatted and undergoes cold pre-fermentation maceration. Prolonged alcoholic fermentation using native yeast in small, temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats favours polyphenol extraction. Malolactic fermentation takes place in French oak barrels. Aging occurs for 13-16 months in medium-toasted second-use barrels.

winemaking

100% Rufete grapes from 60-plus-year-old vines grown in Garcibuey (slate and clay soils) and San Esteban de la Sierra (granite soils). Table-sorted and destemmed then gently pressed. The must is vatted and undergoes cold pre-fermentation maceration. Afterwards, spontaneous alcoholic fermentation occurs with native yeast for 12-13 days at a controlled low temperature (max 20 ºC). After devatting and lightly pressing, malolactic fermentation occurs in second-use French and American, medium-toasted, oak barrels. Finally, the wine is moved to stainless steel vats for 8 months, during which it is racked three times to improve clarity.

winemaking

Early harvest at the end of a warm year with sparse rainfall. At the beginning of September, the ITUERO vineyard (Cristóbol de la Sierra), planted with Rufete in 1930, and at an elevation of 890m, reached its peak potential. We found grapes bursting with aromas, pleasant freshness and mature stems. To avoid skin damage, we skipped destemming, and tipped the crates directly into vats. Just over 2000kg of Rufete was meticulously selected, which underwent an initial press to generate an initial must and kick-start spontaneous alcoholic fermentation. The wine underwent slow fermentation under controlled a temperature between 18-22ºC, where the cap was punched down daily. Before alcoholic fermentation was complete, the wine was devatted and pressed in a vertical press. Alcoholic fermentation was completed in second-use, medium-plus toasted French barrels from the Boutes cooperage. When alcoholic fermentation was complete, the wine was moved back to the vat and after the coarser lees falls to the bottom, the wine was transferred back to the barrel for malolactic fermentation. Bottling followed nine months of barrel aging, then an additional year of bottle aging, before it was released for sale. This wine is the perfect expression of a specific area, a unique native grape variety, tradition, feelings and family.

winemaking

A red wine made from the rare Calabrés, or Garnacha Calabresa variety, a clone exclusive to the Sierra de Francia. Harvested from three vineyards in two distinct locations. One third comes from the slate soils of Garcibuey (Prado Roble vineyard) and the other two thirds from Santibañez de la Sierra (La Cruz de Candelario vineyard and Laz Brozas vineyard) with granite soils which promote delicateness. The grapes were harvested mid-September in excellent condition with perfect ripeness. After table-sorting and destemming, grapes were vatted in a temperature-controlled vat where pre-fermentation maceration occurred for 48 hours at 8ºC. Alcoholic fermentation occurred spontaneously after three days at 21ºC. The wine was punched down 2 or 3 times a day. After fermentation was complete, the wine was devatted and pressed in a vertical press. After racking twice, the wine was moved to 4 French barrels where malolactic fermentation occurred. We enjoyed the mouthfeel of the wine before malolactic fermentation was complete, so we decided to stop it early, leaving a bit of malic acid to heighten the acidity and freshness, helping balance the hot growing season of 2017. The wine was aged for 6 months in French oak before being bottled and placed in turning racks for 12 months for finishing before being released to the market.

winemaking

Our first Rufete Blanco monovarietal. A native variety to our mountains which (for now) isn’t registered in the official list of varieties, making this a great find. It has a very thick skin, matures late, and has an unctuous and dense mouthfeel. The grapes come from three terraced vineyards: La Fuente del Laurel (Casas del Conde), Los San Sebastianes (Miranda del Castañar) and Los Helechales (Garcibuey). The grapes were pressed using a traditional vertical press after being vatted where the grapes underwent pellicular maceration for 48 hours. This helps to achieve cell wall degradation within the skins, allowing us to extract aromas and polyphenolics from the skin into the fruit pulp. After pressing, the must was vatted at 4ºC and debourbaged, then moved to 5 BERTHOMIEU Bordeaux medium-toasted barrels where alcoholic fermentation occurred. Afterwards, the barrels were refilled where the wine stayed for three months with battonage taking place 2-3 times per week. This wine is a result of the endearment we ‘Serranos’ feel for our home, and our strong desire to maintain authenticity. This wine falls outside the P.D.O. Sierra de Salamanca as it is made with Rufete Blanco, a native variety which has only recently (May 18, 2020) been added to the Vegetable Varieties of Spain Catalogue.

winemaking

We harvested on the third of September after a dry summer which followed a rainy spring, leading to a perfect balance of maturity and acidity. After manual table-sorting, crushing and destemming, the grapes are vatted in temperature-controlled stainless steel for 36 hours at 7ºC for the cold maceration process. Afterwards, the grapes are drained and pressed using a vertical bladder press which reduces oxidation.

The must is kept at 6ºC in stainless steel for a period of 14 days for debourbage. Following this, the clean must begins spontaneous alcoholic fermentation using the natural yeast present within, ensuring not a single nuance is taken away from this characteristic variety. During this process, temperatures are kept below 15ºC at all times, invigorating this wine's aromatic expressiveness. After about a month, alcoholic fermentation has completed and the wine is cold-stabilized, lightly filtered and bottled.

winemaking

Cabras Pintás is a fresh wine with a marked rustic character. This is our attempt at making a wine similar to those produced in the past by families in their own homes here in the Sierra de Francia. This wine is of our grandparents’ style but using modern winemaking techniques.

Made with Tempranillo with a touch of Rufete grown on 60-year old vines grown in slate soils of Garcibuey and granite soils of San Esteban and Santibañez. Table sorted and destemmed, then lightly crushed. Cold pre-fermentation maceration. Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation with wild yeast for 12-13 days at a controlled temperature (max. 22ºC). After devatting and pressing lightly, malolactic fermentation using select lactic bacteria is performed in stainless steel for 4 weeks. Barrel-aged in used French and American oak for 12 months.

Cabras Pintás takes its name from the ‘Canchal de las Cabras Pintadas’, a series of Neolithic cave paintings located in the ‘Valle de Batuecas’ valley. This was the first Neolithic cave painting site to be discovered in the region, and in 1921, became the first to be protected by law. It is considered to be the earliest sign of civilization in our region.

winemaking

To make this wine, we select vines between 60 to 70 years old from various small vineyards in the Valdeáguila area near the limits of Garcibuey where chalk soils dominate. Grapes are hand-harvested the first week of September using 18 kg crates, as per our usual protocol, to avoid crushing or breaking.

The grapes are pre-cooled to 10ºC and, after passing through the selection table, are crushed and destemmed. They are then vatted in stainless steel, where the free-run juice is transferred to a second vat via gravity, both with temperature control achieved through a glycol-water mix flowing through the vat's double-wall exterior.

The rosado must is left in stainless steel for 14 days where it is precipitation decanted. Afterwards, the wine is racked into three 400 litre Boutes French oak barrels which are located in our refrigerated room where spontaneous alcoholic fermentation takes place using the indigenous yeast (we do not pitch).

After fermentation, the wine is vatted where it remains at 6ºC for one month, and thereafter racked before being filtered and bottled.

winemaking

On September 31, 2018, we vatted 1150kg of Rufete with a small percent of Tinto Aragonés (Tempranillo), from which we obtained 400 litres of free-run must. After racking, it was fermented spontaneously until the ‘Dia de la Hispanidad’ (October 12, the day Columbus reached the New World in 1492). The wine was bottled with its lees to allow fermentation to continue in the bottle. The bottles were stored in ‘pupitres’ (racks) where they were given quarter turns daily until the end of July 2019, at which time they were turned upside down to allow the lees to settle in the neck. On November 12, 2019, they were disgorged and corked. The result of all this work is a sparkling rosé wine made using the ancestral method: a single natural fermentation as opposed to the two fermentations of the traditional method (méthode champenoise) which undergoes a second forced fermentation in bottle after the addition of yeast and sugar. We produced 467 bottles of sparking wine with subtle natural carbonation, no added sulfates, and 1.4 g/L of residual sugar, qualifying it as Brut Nature. As the amount of lees in each bottle was unique, every one is a bit different from its sister bottles.

Pure craftsmanship dedicated to
Ana María Luzmila Seisdedos, my mother
Agustín Maillo Seisdedos
Mogarraz.