At Pujanza de Laguardia they opted for high-end white wines long before Rioja experienced the current white revolution. Theirs are quality white wines that depend on the unique characteristics of each vintage. They are made by Carlos San Pedro, who defines himself as “a kid from Laguardia” who over time has realized that “the area where we are located is what has to mark the personality of our wines.” His father was already a winegrower, and also a shepherd. His grandfather was a winegrower and winemaker. He was born right above the family winery (Bodegas San Pedro). His entire life has been linked to Laguardia, a municipality in Rioja Alavesa with the Sierra Cantabria as a backdrop, considered one of the most beautiful towns in Spain. In 1998, Carlos San Pedro started, at the age of 25, his own project: Bodegas y Viñedos Pujanza. Here he makes “modern traditional Rioja wines.”
It debuted on the market with 34,000 bottles, of which it only sold 600. But the following year it managed to sell them all. Today it produces around 220,000 bottles, of which it exports 75% of the total. Germany, the United States and Switzerland are its three main international markets. He affirms that he does not know how to do anything other than “run through the vineyards and make wine from a very young age, falling in love with the aromas of fermentation of the musts.” He also assures that he doesn't want to do anything else. He is a passionate viticulturist, producer, gourmet and winelover who likes motorcycles. He has also opened up to wine tourism. All visits to the winery on the Elvillar de Laguardia road include a visit to one of the most charismatic vineyards, Finca Valdepoleo, a tour of the facilities and a tasting of its wines.
Carlos San Pedro has been making his own wines for a quarter of a century now. He explains: “they say that the wines we make are modern but the modernity that we started with Pujanza was to go back and recover the way in which traditional Rioja wines had always been made but with a new perspective, always looking directly at the vineyard.” In other words, he is looking for “new traditional Rioja wines, starting from a different vision.” For this reason, he assures that from the beginning his philosophy has focused on the land “to perfectly understand and know each of his estates and the behavior of the grape varieties depending on the conditions of each vintage.” He states that his wines “are as they have historically always been in this area: fresh, so as not to mask the fruit, and subtle, but with structure so that they leave their weight in the mouth.” He also defines them as “harmonious, without edges and with great aging potential, where nothing stands out over the whole. Hence its elegance.” Pujanza's wines are made only with Tempranillo and Viura, native varieties that he says "perfectly represent their origin, and are significantly influenced by the soil and climate."
He has been working with whites since 2005, although it was not until the 2007 vintage that he was convinced to launch his most iconic white wine on the market, Añadas Frías. In her last vintage, 2021, this viura appears fine, sharp and stylized. The passage through its wood is more marked in the olfactory phase, with smoky notes, which in the taste phase is saline, with touches reminiscent of sour green apple, citrus fruits and vanilla. Later, from the same vineyard, she made the SJ Anteportalatina, a 100% viura planted on the Logroño road (in Alto de Castejones). The name of the wine is that of the place where it is born, in honor of the martyr San Juan de Ante Portam Latinam. He was arrested by order of the Roman emperor Domitian in the year 81, during the second persecution against Christians, and ended up dying after being thrown into a jar of boiling oil next to the Latin Gate of Rome.
SJ Anteportalatina is the fruit of a 4 hectare vineyard (with 1.5 of viura and the rest of tempranillo) with clayey-calcareous soils, with a high lime content. It was replanted in 1989 on a trellis, 600 meters above sea level. His vines were planted with American foot by Carlos San Pedro before going to perform his military service in Vitoria. It was Javier's father who grafted them with the Viura variety, but not with the idea of making white wines but to refresh the red ones. Carlos San Pedro, however, saw his potential and ended up creating high-level targets. He sought to obtain products where aromatic explosiveness did not prevail but depth did. It is in this small plot where both Añadas Frías and SJ Anteportalatina are born. They share origin, but never add.
The 2011 vintage of SJ Anteportalatina was about to become the first to be released on the market. But Carlos San Pedro's perfectionist and non-conformist character led him to not present this wine to the market until the very good vintage of 2015. It is a limited edition white. He states that “SJ Anteportalatina does not go on the market until we find the characteristics of the vineyard, which define the personality of the wine above that of the vintage.” From this Riojan winery they consider that "in SJ Anteportalatina the truth of the landscape from which it comes is expressed and enjoyed." And it is also noted that “this 100% Viura is a wine that transmits the terroir through its nose and captivates with its freshness, balance and complexity in the mouth.”
The 2022 vintage in Pujanza began with November and December 2021, which were quite humid months, which led to a good accumulation of water in the soils. After a cold and dry start to the year, rains were received again during the month of March that helped increase the water reserve in the vineyards. The rest of the cycle was characterized by a lack of rain, which translated into more moderate vigor in the plants, and by high temperatures. The rains at the end of August were essential for the end of veraison and for promoting correct ripening. The harvest was carried out approximately two weeks ahead of the usual dates, with the white grapes being harvested on September 12.
SJ Anteportalatina 2022, of which only 1,300 bottles have been produced due to the drought, was made after careful selection of the berries in the vineyard. The grapes were cold macerated several hours after entering the winery. The pressing was smooth. After three days, alcoholic fermentation took place spontaneously in a stainless steel tank. The aging, carried out in 500-liter French oak barrels and concrete tanks, lasted for 12 months.
This wine, whose label states that it is a Laguardia Wine, is straw yellow in color, clear, bright and with marked tears. It offers notes of apple and spring stone fruit on a base of vanilla and a touch of fennel. It passes with a glyceric tactile sensation and a marked salinity. It is sapid and sharp, elegant and enveloping. Long memory in the mouth, opulent and warm. Carlos San Pedro likes to enjoy this wine with a fatty fish such as the baked turbot from Juan Manuel García's La Carbonera restaurant in Logroño. It is even a good ally for challenging pairings, accompanying some great asparagus from La Catedral or a good Stilton blue cheese. Carlos San Pedro likes to serve his whites at the end of tastings.
