Majuelo ‘El Espejo‘ - Verdejo

Verdejo | single vineyard 'El Espejo' | net voor de kelder gelegen Espejo = spiegel | 22 jaar oude stokken, geënt van Majuelo 'del Chiviritero' en 'la Otea'  | stening terroir bij La Seca | 750 meter hoogte | whole bunch pressed | volledig vergist en gerijpt voor 9-10 maanden op Frans eikenhout van 500l | diep | zoutig | veel spanning | citrus zest | iets reductie

Isaac Cantalapiedra

De familie Cantalapiedra bezit ongeveer 20 hectare in het gebied la Seca, op 750 meter hoogte en ten hoogte van Madrid. Manuel maakt deel uit van de huidige generatie en heeft een duidelijke visie; rijpere stijl Verdejo van biologische druiven. Daarnaast hebben ze drie single vineyards genaamd: 'Chiviritero', 'Los Picones' en 'La Otea' en sinds kort is hij ook begonnen met een project in Toro waar hij met de inheemse druif Tinto de Toro een hele fraaie rode wijn maakt. Inmiddels is de hele serie in ons assortiment en bijna niet meer weg te denken in de topgastronomie.

Review

A new Verdejo from a north-facing plot planted in 2001 on clay and limestone soils covered with stones, the 2020 El Espejo is from a challenging year with 30% lower yields because of the wet and warm season. It fermented in used French oak barrels, went through full malolactic and matured with the lees but no bâtonnage in 500- and 600-liter barrels for 11 months and a further eight months in stainless steel. It has 13.9% alcohol, a pH of 3.25 and close to six grams of acidity. This is from a plot with stones and clay that behaves well in warm years, and the wine feels a little more exuberant and faintly tropical. This is the first year they produced it separately, and there's good balance. I'm looking forward to future years of this plot. 2,609 bottles and 30 magnums were filled unfined and unfiltered in May 2022. 93/100 Luis Gutiérrez

The Cantalapiedra family is in the heart of Rueda, in the village of La Seca, but like many small producers, they sell their wines with the wider Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León appellation despite the fact that they are textbook whites from Rueda. They started bottling their own wine in 2014, as before they sold all their grapes. They now produce wines from a great part of their 21 hectares of vineyards, worked organically for over 15 years already, and they still sell the rest of the grapes to other wineries in the region, something that they stopped in 2022. They have bought some more vineyards of ancient ungrafted vines in Alcazarén, Hornillos de Eresma and Toro, where they also purchase some grapes. They produce 95,000 bottles per year.