“It is a wine that conveys the typicality of the area of Los Lirios, on the left bank of the Arlanza River in the Covarrubias area.” This is how Luis Martín defines Cerro Cerezo 2020, the most iconic wine of his shared Viñedos Olvidados project in the Castilian DO Arlanza, in alliance with the Valtravieso winery from the DO Ribera del Duero and its Valencian winemaker Ricardo Velasco Pla. They add that "it is a wine with a light, fine color, with a precise structure and just amplitude, and an eternal finish on vibrant, floral and mineral tannins." It is a single plot wine, made with tempranillo (mainly), mencía, monastrell, bobal, garnacha and fig leaf.
It is a vineyard of centuries-old vines planted in glass that has been rescued, literally, from oblivion. They are unique terrains with very old ungrafted vines that were saved from the devastating phylloxera plague. The vineyard, which is difficult to work, is located about 1,000 meters above sea level, next to the Las Mamblas mountain range (whose capricious shape gave it the Latin name mamulas, which means breasts).
Luis Martín, who is also the owner of Vinoval, a distributor with more than 800 wine references that is a reference in Castilla y León, began making wine at home in a completely altruistic way in 2010. In an unexpected reunion with four childhood friends They decided to return to the beautiful municipality of Covarrubias with the aim of recovering vineyards and jointly producing very unique wines. He was soon left alone in this adventure. But in 2019 he teamed up with Valtravieso to continue it.
With Viñedos Olvidados they aim to rescue areas of forgotten traditional vineyards, which in many cases had already been abandoned and lost, as well as highlight native varieties co-planted in centuries-old hawthorn trees. They affirm that the Viñedos Olvidados de Valtravieso project “is to rescue traditional vineyard areas and highlight native varietals from a different approach. It is discovering its hidden treasures and reclaiming the identity of each area.”
A forgotten vineyard, they say, “takes us back to those very old vines that rest on small plots. A valuable legacy preserved by the special bond that winegrowers maintain with these lands. Its mixed strains are a reflection of a traditional, very artisanal and almost forgotten cultivation. They are strong and resistant, twisted vines; that age with wisdom, offering a unique fruit in each harvest.”
Viñedos Olvidados has projects in Arlanza, Jumilla and Ribera del Júcar. At the same time, Luis Martín from Lerme is promoting a personal project in the DO Arlanza, focused on vineyards in the Covarrubias area, but in which he has also delved into very old vineyards in the province of Palencia (in Palenzuela, in the region del Cerrato) that was bought by the parents of two elderly nonagenarians who continue to work them. This is Vinos Sinceros, with which he also wants to safeguard ancient mazuelos that were in danger of disappearing.
They affirm that the area where Cerro Cerezo is born is complex and very difficult to work with. They add that “it requires extreme viticulture management since there is no irrigation, there are many frosts, a lot of forest and animals that eat the fruit. Its soils are poor, very old and quite deep. “They are composed mainly of alluvium with boulders, sand and clay at the bottom.” These very old vineyards maintain the original planting style where various varieties of both red and white grapes coexisted, with practically no space between the vines, requiring very manual work and not allowing the work to be mechanized.
Despite being somewhat forgotten vineyards, their recoverers affirm that “thanks to this unique terroir they produce spectacular fruit.” With the intention of preserving the essence of the area and maintaining the original production style, microsatellite analyzes have been carried out to detect white varieties within the lines of red varieties.
The vineyards are made up of a multitude of varieties such as Tempranillo, mainly, which is at the limit of ripening due to the confluence of altitude and latitude; as well as garnacha, some mencía, monastrell, bobal, fig leaf or garnacha tintorera (Alicante Bouchet) among many others. They state that “this diversity of varietals provides complexity and balance in the wines.”
2020 was characterized by being a vintage with a rainy and cold winter, and a very rainy spring without late frosts. It was a productive year “and conducive to good maturation, with freshness,” according to the winery. It was harvested on October 10.
In its production, microvinification is carried out in small stainless steel tanks and in plastic buckets with manual tapping, with daily treading and with a long but gentle maceration. The alcoholic fermentation is spontaneous, with indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation takes place in a 228-liter Burgundian barrel made of used French oak.
The subsequent aging is carried out for a minimum of 20 months in used 400 and 500 liter French oak barrels. A limited edition of only 628 bottles was produced from this vintage.
Cerro Cerezo 2020 is a great red that shows a medium layer and color between ruby and cherry cherry. It stands out for its maturity and, above all, for its great acidity. It exhibits notes of withered rose petals, Cuban tobacco leaf and ripe red and black fruits (even prunes), on a background of fine cigar box cedar. It is strong but elegant, tannic, deep and complex, and with a mineral (graphite) tip. With the aging in wood and the alcohol (14.5º) very well integrated.
From the winery they say that it is “excellent” to accompany elaborate and powerful stews such as free-range chicken, suckling pig or suckling lamb and grilled red meats. Likewise, it pairs perfectly with a variety of desserts, such as dark chocolate cake. Luís Martín, who confesses to being a lover of small game stews, prefers to accompany it with a stewed pigeon or a hare in a casserole like those cooked at the Palencia restaurant Los Palmeros in Frómista or at the Lera restaurant in Castroverde de Campos ( Zamora). Winemaker Ricardo Velasco states that Cerro Cerezo is a “very versatile” red wine. He says it goes well with local suckling lamb chops and beef pastrami.
