At the heart of Seca, a small town in Castilla y Leon, different generations of the Cantalapiedra family have worked passionately, crafting wine. Nearly 21 hectares of vines aged around 30 years grow in the birthplace of the Verdejo variety. The soils are mainly composed of gravel but there are also some clay, sand, and limestone spots too. The region’s terroir is defined by its distinctive mantle of pebbles, which plays a crucial role in shaping the character of the Verdejo grape. Aware of today’s environmental issues and committed to offering authentic cuvées that reflect the purest expression of the terroir, the estate adheres to strict biodynamic principles and is certified organic. After the grapes are harvested entirely by hand, vinification takes place with as little intervention as possible to conserve their excellent quality. Fermentation is started by natural yeasts and minimum sulphur is added.

This cuvée stems from three plots located in the village of Villabuena del Puente, planted with Tinta de Toro, the local name for Tempranillo, and 5% white grapes. The vines, pruned in the traditional goblet style and planted at low density, are rooted in a sandstone terroir. Manuel Cantalapiedra embraces organic winegrowing and follows a low-intervention approach to winemaking. The grapes, hand harvested and placed into small 15kg crates, are 80% destemmed, lightly crushed, and transferred to stainless steel vats for fermentation. The remaining 20% whole clusters, ferment in open-top vats over a period of just over three weeks. After pressing, the wine is transferred to French oak casks of varying sizes (225 to 500 litres) for eleven months of ageing. The casks are blended in a vat before bottling, without fining or filtration.
The result is a wine bursting with intense fruit flavours, with blackberry and plum aromas, accented by hints of tobacco and undergrowth. The rich, full-bodied palate is balanced by a lively freshness that lingers on the finish.