Family's P - CASA DEL VINO

WINES AROUND&ABOUTMARIANO WORLD HERITAGE GARCÍASITESGeneral Manager for almost all thefamily projects, and the fact that he isan active presence for most of thesebodegas in over 30 global marketspoints up how busy he is.In addition to mostly old Tinto Fino,Mauro vineyards include Garnachaand Syrah. Because Mauro lies outsidethe DO Ribera del Duero limits,Mariano and Eduardo are free toinclude other grapes in their blends.Mauro’s first vintage was 1978, whilethe bodega itself was founded in 1980.A few years ago, production at Maurohad outgrown the capacity of thehistoric 17 th -century winery in Tudelade Duero. A new winery, completed in2004, now lies just outside town andhas recently been expanded. In thismodern, functional winery, there’s acomplete lab for analysis, a refrigeratedroom to receive the harvested grapes,and a temperature-controlled room formalolactic fermentation.Mauro’s vineyard soils are a blend ofsand, clay, calcareous clay, limestone,chalk and trace minerals like iron andschist. These soils match those bestfound near DO Ribera del Duero’shistoric wine towns of Pesquera,Peñafiel and Valbuena, including thevineyards of Vega Sicilia, Pesquera,Emilio Moro and Alión. In general,these soils yield grapes that makeRibera del Duero wines with the mostfinesse, elegance and balance, due tothe percentage of important limestoneand calcareous clay components.Mauro Tinto is a distinctive wine withtraditional Ribera characters and aremarkable ability to age well for itscategory, similar to Pesquera Tintofrom Alejandro Fernández. The winehas bold, spicy wild cherry fruit, withwarm notes of herbs and toasted oak.For the last few vintages, Mauro Tintohas included around 10% Syrah,which lends the wine intriguing, spicyaromas and a peppery edge. MauroVendimia Seleccionada is a moretraditional Ribera wine made from100% Tinto Fino from old vines, 60-80 years old and older. This wineblends power and finesse, with broadred and black fruit flavors on thepalate, and a mineral edge, in themanner of a First Growth Pauillac orPomerol, and it can age for decades.Terreus is a modern-style wine madewith grapes from old vines in a singlevineyard, Paraje de Cueva Bajo, on theDuero River’s right bank, near Tudela.This wine has powerful depth, darkberry ripeness and a serious tannicstructure built for long aging.Aalto: Ribera’sultimate boutiquewineryAs Aalto owner Javier Zaccagninidrives me to his new winery, hediscusses the genesis of the project. Heand Mariano met in 1998, andcircumstances found both of theminterested in beginning a new venture.They had an idea to make a 100%Tinto Fino wine from DO Ribera delcollege buildings and their patios, butmake sure to look up from time totime to admire the many cupolas andturrets, and to get a glimpse of thestorks that fly in and out of theroughly 100 registered nests.Mandatory stops include Salinas in thePlaza de Cervantes to sample thefamous costradas de Alcalá (a light puffpastry with cream and meringue,topped with crushed almonds andlightly oven broiled). According tobaker Manuel del Rosal, they werealready a tradition here before theshop opened in 1846. Another not-tobe-missedtreat are the typical sugarcoatedalmonds that you can purchase,while you recite an “Ave Maria”, afterpassing through a small revolving doorat the Clarisses Convent just off SanDiego Square. Finally, if you happen tobe here on a Sunday, especially withchildren, do as the Spaniards do andenjoy an afternoon of migas conchocolate (fried breadcrumbs withchocolate) at the classic Hostelería delEstudiante (Migas to compare, page61). Also have a peek across the streetat the impressive and innovativeParador (Spanish heritage hotels, SpainGourmetour No. 69) that opened lastOctober. With its intricate rooftopgarden, it represents a greatarchitectural feat (the model wasshown at the MOMA in New York in2006) and it epitomizes Alcalá’s50 62 JANUARY-APRIL 2009 SPAIN GOURMETOUR

Duero using only the finest grapesfrom selected, old clones of vines atleast 60 years old. Javier and Marianowanted their project to “make a winethat could be the equal of ChateauLafite or Mouton, and the best redwines in the world, in 15 to 20 yearstime.” The new winery, just off the N-122 highway near Peñafiel, has sleek,clean lines of which famous Finnishdesigner Alvar Aalto, the bodega’snamesake, would be proud. “Ourconcept was to begin with a blanksheet of paper. I asked Mariano, Aalto’sTechnical Director: ‘If you coulddesign a winery and do anything youwant, how would you build it?’” Thebuilding’s main feature is the transferof grapes, must and wine solely bygravity, so Javier and I tour thebuilding “as if we were grapes”: fromtop to bottom, through five storieswhich are mostly underground, builtinto the side of a hill.Javier explains that “the winery wasdesigned by Mariano, a greatwinemaker who has many years ofexperience, and now that we’ve madethree vintages here, working in thewinery has shown us that it’s noweasier for us to make better wine.”There are fermentation tanks inconcrete, French oak and stainlesssteel, the latter a custom, conicaldesign by Mariano that helps to spreadout the cap during fermentation toobtain an optimal, softer extraction oftannins. Three types of fermentationtanks give Mariano and the other Aaltowinemakers maximum flexibility whenvinifying parcels of grapes withdifferent characters.JANUARY-APRIL 2009 SPAIN GOURMETOUR 51

Corral de ComediasFor political reasons, all academicactivities The vistas were from moved Aalto’s to offices Madrid look outduring onto the the surrounding 19 th century, páramos, but the theuniversity tops of the reopened valley slopes in 1977, that appear tooccupying have been dramatically the original buildings flattened, that, andthanks the Duero to a Valley most forms laudable a swath initiative cutfrom deep a into consortium the geology of locals, of the hills, had beenkept revealing from striations major decay. of various This has soilenabled geology, a like more a rock than layer 500-year-old cake. Javieruniversity pointed to complex the young of vineyards greatmonumental fronting his bodega: value to “Mariano continue and its Imodern searched day for activities this site for in six much years. theThissame slope way forms as a it protected had done microclimate. in the past.The soils are very similar to thosefound near Vallodolid, with calcareousAlcalá todayclay, stones and limestone.” LimestoneToday is a very Alcalá important is a modern component city with forlarge finesse industries and complexity on its outskirts, in the wines. yetthanks “We will to wait its historic until these center, vines it has are atbecome least 20-25 one before of the we most use interesting them forplaces Aalto. Planted to visit within from selected a short cuttings radius offrom the very Spain’s old clones capital. of This Tinto was, Fino of fromcourse, various fully locations, recognized the growers in its callnomination these Tinto Aragonez.” as a World According Heritage City toin Mariano 1998. and Eduardo, Tinto Aragonez“It vines hasproduce definitely concentrated made a difference,” fruit withsays the best Anaaromas, Magallares, color, the palate dynamic flavors,Director of the Tourism ExcellencePlan, tannins which and polyphenols.aims at improving,structuring, Aalto shows innovating proud bramble, andconsolidating blackberry and tourist blackactivities raspberryin andaroundaromas,Alcalá,along withalsocassis,with theleathercity’sandcandidacylicorice notes.for CulturalThere’s aCapitalfocus ofoffruiton the palate, with a lush, creamyEurope in 2016 in mind. “Becoming acharacter, and with tangy, sweet notesWorld Heritage city has provided alike an orange bell pepper. With solidgreat value-enhancing impulse,” shestructure, the tannins are sublime andcomments. Not only have people insoft. Aalto PS shows more black fruit,Spain and tourists from abroaddepth and complexity, with notes ofbecome increasingly interested indark chocolate, espresso and toastedvisiting, it has also spurred locals tooak, and overall the structure andtaketanninspridecallinfortheirsometown.bottle age.But authorities in Alcalá are lookingahead and taking a great number ofAstrales: Eduardo’spractical and creative steps to further“Burgundy Alcalá’s appeal, not only Project” as a touristThisstop,projectbut alsobeganas a linguisticwhen theandRomerade congressional la Cruz family, destination, three generations where ofgrape culture growers, goes hand-in-hand stopped selling with grapes fun. Into this bottle vein, their two areas own wine. stand They out inhiredEduardo particular: as theater Technical and Director gastronomy, in 2000.The and all bodega throughout farms 20 the parcels year, events in anddifferent re-enactments villages are near organized, the town oftenAnguix, combining not the far two. from From La Horra The and Nights Roaof Don Juan, Classics in Alcalá and thein Week northern of Cervantes, central DO to the Ribera Tapas del RouteDuero. and Gastronomic The oldest Week, vineyard 2010 is called will beFuentesanta, Alcalá’s gastronomic with 85-year-old year, when vines. foodrelatedeventsEduardo strictlyonutilizesmany levelsorganicareviticulture,planned.with copper and sulfurtreatments used only when absolutelyAlthough there are guided tours, anecessary. He believes it’s necessary forgreat thing to do is to simply take ahis grapes to reach optimal maturity inmap and just stroll through the streets.the vineyards, so almost allThere are sites you really should see:winemaking has already been donethe emblematic Colegio Mayor de Santhere, utilizing old clones.Ildefonso, with its magnificent 16 th -Eduardo explains: “The clones ofcentury Plateresque façade, its patios,Tinto Aragonez in Anguix areanddifferentthe aforementionedthan La Horra,Auditorium;thantheAguilera,porticoedthanCalleTubilla;Mayor,for me,wherein eachyou’llvillagefindthetheTempranilloreconstructedis different,Home ofCervantes, the morphology the nearby is different. Hospital The deAntezana, Tinto Aragonez and where in Toro, you in can Ribera, enjoy in awide Tudela, range in Cigales, of tapasin on other any of places, its it’snumerous a clone with terraces; lots of and hair, the more Plaza leaves, deCervantes the grapes and are smaller, its endearing moreCorral deComedias, concentrated, a 16and th -century you find theater it in many(rehabilitated places. People several have taken times) cuttings where allkinds from many of performances parcels and are forheld, over from threeclassic or four theater centuries, to jazz. the You vines can change walkfreely and adapt in and to out their of parcels. the magnificent In the end,60 52 JANUARY-APRIL 2009 SPAIN GOURMETOUR

MARIANO GARCÍAWINESit’s still Tempranillo.”Walking DO Ribera del Duerovineyards, it’s easy to see why theregion is ideal for winegrowing. Thedays are sunny, hot and dry, while thenights are very cool and fresh, similarto Napa in the US, although visuallyRibera looks more like Utah orNevada. Eduardo notes an overnighttemperature gradient of 22-23ºC(71.6-73.4ºF), which is very importantfor the grape skins to develop acidityand phenolic ripeness. Initially,Eduardo’s cowboy swagger seemscocky, but when you see him deftlycheck vine leaves and taste grapes, heseems like a father checking to see thathis son’s coat is buttoned beforesending him off to school. HisCalle confidence Mayor comes from an impressiveknowledge of his vineyards and wines,which he refers to like they’re people.M I G A S T O C O M P A R EWe visit parcels near Anguix, andEduardo explains the soil types in DORibera del Duero. “In Anguix, youhave limestone, clay and sandy soils.Here, in Ribera, you have differentkinds of soils. It’s incredible–it’sdifferent in each village: in one placethere are no good vineyards, but just100 m (328 ft) higher, you haveperfect terroir.I don’t like too much ripeness,powerful wines with too much fruitand alcohol. I prefer wines witharomas and acidity, balanced flavorsand tannins, and finesse. It’s mostimportant for us to respect the TintoFino grape, and to respect the typicityand the characters of the differentterroirs in our parcels.”During vinification, Eduardo isconservative; there are no overlytechnical methods like “cold soak” orextended maceration, but shortmacerations, and careful oak aging.Astrales has pure black fruit and wildherb aromas; on the palate there’sdepth with a character of sous-bois, orforest undergrowth. The tannins arealways paradoxically structured yetsoft.San Román: aMariano recognized the potential ofthese treasures, and he boughtvineyards. Maurodos was establishedin 1995, and San Román 1997 wasthe first modern Toro wine, vinified atthe old Mauro winery. In 2000, aThis trip wouldn’t be complete functional, if you didn’t gravity-only have migas winery on more was thanpioneer in Toro one occasion. This legendary built, Spanish where, folk similar fare is to mentioned other family severaltimes in Don Quixote (Spain Gourmetour No. 64). At the HosteleríaIn 1994, Mariano investigatedprojects where both men work,del Estudiante in Alcalá (opened in 1929, it is the first and now onlyEduardo works as Head Winemaker,vineyards in DO Toro for Parador Vega left Sicilia to be only a restaurant), they are rich and packed withtropezones (morsels of fresh overseeing bacon, ham daily and operations, chorizo), while whileand Mauro projects. Toro hasat theParador Convento de San Mariano Pablo in functions Cuenca, they as Technical are served plain,numerous incredible old vines,but equally delicious. Migas Director, may be helping served with make fried strategic eggs, greenplanted pie franco, on ungrafted peppers, crispy morcilla (blood sausage), lomo en orza (pork loindecisions.rootstock unaffected by traditionally phylloxera, preserved in terracotta) or sardines, and always withfresh grapes to clear the Unlike palate. And DO then Ribera there del is a Duero, modernDOwhich is thwarted by DO Toro’s veryrestaurant, in the modern Toro section is noticeably of Cuenca with flata vineyard modern chef land, andsandy soils. These original a modern vines menu, yet its name and the is as relentless quixotic as sun can prompts be. At Bálsamo me toproduce concentrated de fruit Fierabrás with (the all-curing remedy repeatedly mentioned byapply sunscreen. Alberto shows mesuperior aromas, colorCervantes),and palatechef Jesús Segura offers a most delicate sampler menu,reinterpreting traditional dishes several without different interfering parcels with in their the original townsflavors. With a vegetative ingredients seasonand flavors. Quite of Villaester, a feast and with a wonderful sandy, clay gastronomic andlasting five months, compared experience. to Who onlyneeds gravel to compare? soils. In one parcel, he picksfour for DO Ribera del Duero, DO up a chunk of clay rich in red iron. IToro grapes have greater ripeness and take it and try to break it, but it’s liketannins. Year to year, the climate here concrete. Parcels in San Román deis more consistent than Ribera, so it’s Hornija are covered with stones,a more reliable place to make wine. many of which are the size ofJANUARY-APRIL 2009 SPAIN GOURMETOUR 61 53

WINESMARIANO GARCÍAfootballs, similar to the many stones,or galets, in Chateauneuf-du-Pape.“In Toro, you don’t have limestone,you have a lot of sand and clay, andyou have stones in the parcels inVillafranca and San Román; in El Pego,it’s only sandy, and in Morales it’s amix, so we don’t like to have a wine ofone soil, of one terroir. We prefer tohave a lot of different terroirs andareas. This way you can have a lot ofcomplexity in the nose.”Two wines are made here: San Román,aged for 22-23 months in new Frenchand used American oak barrels, andPrima, a young, crianza-style wineaged for 11-12 months in 2-3-year-oldFrench and American oak barrels. Bothwines have aromatic depth with herbaland mineral notes. Prima has fresh,dark berry fruit while San Románshows structure and velvety smoothtannins. In blind tastings, theimpressive San Román has repeatedlyplaced ahead of all other wines fromDO Toro.Paixar: a uniqueexpression ofMencíaThe project is named for the local termpaixares, meaning extremely high, oldmountain vines surrounded bychestnut and oak trees. Initially,Mariano consulted with his sons onthe potential of this forgotten area,located in Castile’s northwest corner,about a five hour drive from Toro.Alberto and Eduardo are the project’sGeneral Director and TechnicalDirector, respectively.DO Bierzo (Spain Gourmetour No. 72)is a verdant, green, extremelymountainous area with a wet, coolAtlantic climate; it couldn’t be moredifferent from DO Toro or DO Riberadel Duero. The mountain vineyards arein a protected microclimate, made ofsmall parcels at 700-1,000 m (2,296-3,280 ft) elevation with southernexposure, planted on very raked slopes(some of which attain a 48° angle) thatsurround the village of Dragonte, onone of the hilltops. The most difficultvineyards in the Mosel, Douro and theRhône have nothing on these. Thesoils are almost pure, fractured brownand black slate. Similar to those foundin DO Priorat, and due to theelevation, harvesting occurs two weekslater than in the rest of Villafranca, thelocal village.Taking direction from Eduardo,winemaker Matthieu Barrault, 29,carefully walks up and down thesevineyard slopes every day. He leads anarduous, almost monastic existencetending the vines, many of which are60-105 years old. With priorexperience in Toro, St. Emilion and theLoire, he contends with jabalí (wildboar) and birds that eat the old vines’meager production. Chestnut trees,planted generations ago by localfarmers as a cash crop, have extensiveroot systems that take water from thevines. Matthieu calls them “anotherproblem.” Paixar is a very singularexpression of Mencía, and the slate soilslend a pronounced charcoal minerality,along with vibrant acidity and anintriguing, bell pepper spice, similar toPetit Verdot or Cabernet Franc.Praise fromwinemaking peersMariano and his family are greatlyrespected and admired by their peers.Jesús Madrazo, Chief Winemaker atViñedos del Contino in Rioja Alavesa,says: “The most important thing aboutMariano is his humanity. It’s muchmore important than if you’re a topwinemaker. A friend of mine, a winegeek, had a tasting group in Barcelona.A few years ago, he and his friendsorganized a vertical tasting of Mauro54 JANUARY-APRIL 2009 SPAIN GOURMETOUR

Home of CervantesVendimia Seleccionada and Terreus inmagnums. A bit of They backgroundcouldn’t find a bottleof But the let Terreus us, for a 1998, moment, so my turn friend back thecalled clock and the Mauro briefly put bodega the to city find aoutwhere historical they context. could buy Alcalá it. Somehow, owes its fullMariano name to the ended river up Henares. speaking The to my sitefriend, gained and its first upon great hearing relevance of the as atasting, strategic he location found in a bottle the very of Terreus center of1998 the Iberian and drove Peninsula it to them under personally. theHe Romans joined when the tasting it was called and he wouldn’tlet Complutum. the group pay for the wine… Thereis A new humanity, period there’s of revival passion, came there in the is 8 thsomething century under of Mariano’s the Moors, soul who in all built hisawines. fortress Every that gave year, the his city wines its present are verygood name to (qu’alat, excellent. or castle). And for Although me, it’sreally practically important nothing to see remains the of thecommunication original site, the of influence winemaking of Arabtradition culture appears in the family, repeatedly from in father toson. beautifully If you intricate look his mudéjar sons, you (a fusion seereflections of Christian ofand Mariano.” Arab elements)Peter ceramics Sisseck, and winemaker wood-carved at ceilings, Dominio dePingus like that and of the Hacienda Auditorium Monasterio, of thefeelsthat magnificent “MarianoUniversity’s is a great guy Colegio and a Mayor greatprofessional, de San Ildefonso. and he It is also here has where something thevery annual important prestigious that Cervantes many of us Award don’thave. ceremony He’s been (the Nobel making of wine Spanish in Riberasince literature) ’68, his takes family place. has known the areafor many generations and that givesAfter being recaptured in the 12 thwhat is so often missing in new areas: acentury,sense of history,the citythebecameabilitythetoseatconnectof thetoArchbishop’show things werepalaceandofhowToledopeopleandinstartedRibera usedto thrive,to work.in largeHe ispartalsoowing toaextremelylarge Jewishprivilegedmerchantto havecommunity.workedBut with it Ribera’s is indeed best the grapes avant-garde at a houseUniversity known for great of Alcalá quality.” that took the cityto new heights from the 15 th centuryonward, thanks to the visionaryThe García familyCardinal Cisneros (1436-1517).Adjacent moves to the ahead medieval city, heproceeded The excellence to build of craft a university in Mariano’s 40complex years of winemaking specifically is laid astounding, out gridlikean immense squares body and offering work full by Pablo service tolikescholars Picasso. The and Garcías students, were including pioneers incolleges, DO Toro, residences, and their interest a hospital in DOandeven Bierzoa and jail. in Vicente DO Ribera Pérez, del an Duero’s experthistorian town of Anguix at Alcalá’s has spurred city hall, interest explains andthat activity brilliant in these students areas. Comparable without means towere Mariano granted are the scholarships, late Henri Jayer inacademicians Burgundy, Gérard wereChave brought in the in Rhône, from allover and Tom Europe, Dehlinger, and there Paul were Draper exchange and theprograms late Andre with Tchelicheff other university in the US. cities Thesethat winemakers mutually pursued accepted projects credits. that In themidst ultimately of such influenced a universal others academic and helpedmelting promote pot, the quality comes ofas their no regional surprisethatwinesnotaroundonly wasthe world.Europe’sMarianofirstandvernacularhis sons havegrammarshown otherswrittentheherepotential(Gramáticaof Castile-Leon.de laUtilizinglengua castellanaa blend ofbythebestAntoniotraditionalde Nebrija,and modern1441-1522), but itwinemakingis also wheremethods,the first polyglotalong withBibleconservativeappeared as awinegrowing,compilationtheof theGarcíasareoriginalmaking(butseveralnot necessarilybenchmarkidentical)wines inDOs versions Ribera in Latin, del Duero, Greek, Toro Hebrew and Bierzo. andUncork Aramaic. one of the bottles made byMariano This set the and stage his sons for Spain’s and you’ll Golden have aliquid Age (16 bit of Castile-Leon wine history inth and 17 th centuries) which, inyour terms glass. of literature, As for where greatly the evolved Garcías areheaded around next, Alcalá. their In addition future appears to relevant asbright, clerics such attractive as Mazarin and filled (1602-1661) with infinitepromise and Ignatius as a glass of Loyola of one (1491-1556), of their manysublime and famous wines. writers and poets includingLope de Vega (1562-1635), CalderónChris de la Barca Fleming (1600-1681) is a New York-based and Franciscofreelance de Quevedo wine (1580-1645), writer who has mystics written such forRobb as Teresa Report de Jesús and winereviewonline.com.and Juan de la CruzMost left their recently, imprint he was here. Technical And then Advisor ofon course a Rioja there DVD is the produced towering for figure theCulinary Cervantes, Institute who was of America born here by in the1547Vibrant and, although Rioja PR he campaign did not work in the inUS.He’s Alcalá, also he Internet is claimed Communications to be the city’sManager most outstanding at Frederick offspring. Wildman & Sons.JANUARY-APRIL 2009 SPAIN GOURMETOUR 55 59