Bodegas Altolandon, Sin Filtros Garnacha Blanca, Manchuela, Spain, 2021

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

100% White Grenache. The skin of the Grenache Blanca grape is golden in colour and naturally produces wines with a nutty tartness. The vineyards are planted on a plateau at 1100 m, with vines averaging 20 years of age. Grapes are grown with minimum intervention and maximum care, minimal irrigation and environmentally friendly fertilisation. Rosalia practices green harvesting: removing green and unripe grapes in order to reduce yield and increase quality of remaining grapes.

Winemaking

The grapes are first put into 1000 litre amphoras and skins are left in contact with the must for 24 hours before the fermentation starts spontaneously, which then takes approximately 28 days. Maceration of the skins and seeds is carried out to extract colour, tannins and flavour, and is also a natural way of preserving the wine. AltoLandon work in harmony with nature, utilising the lunar calendar to select the best day for pruning, decanting, bottling and all work carried out in the cellar.

Oak Ageing

No oak ageing

Tasting Note

This wine has a dark yellow colour with deep amber hues, profound autumnal aromas, ripe apricots, almonds, notes of tangerine, citrus peel and a hint of dry grassiness. Whilst the nose alludes to sweetness, it is bone dry in the mouth, has balanced acidity and complex tart fruitiness, deep flavours of dried mango, touch of fresh peach pie, earthy mineral, complex flavors and dry tannin finish. So good!

Food Matching

A food lovers dream wine. A great wine for those dishes that could pair with either a red or a White, curry, tajine, chicken, squab, aubergine, salmon and a variety of cheeses.