Bodegas y Viñedos Raul Perez - Ole Imports

NavarraBodegas Viña MagañaTo make money while he was waiting to make his own wines, hesold clone #181 elsewhere, but he didn’t just sell Merlot; anyoneimportant in Spain bought their Cabernet, Malbec, and SauvignonBlanc (as well as Syrah and Cabernet Franc) from Magaña’svineyards. Even today, any Merlot seen in the country is likely tohave come from this original source, planted in 1975.It was not aneasy journey. Juan would travel to France, buy the vines inBordeaux, and then bring them across the Mountains. Then hewould graft and grow the vines, make cuttings, and sell them toother wineries. Every time the D.O. made a visit to check onwineries, Magaña would claim all of their vines as Tempranillo toavoid questioning and stay within the law.So how did Merlot eventually become legal within the area? Yearslater, the D.O. came to Magaña to ask his advice! They explainedthat his “Tempranillo” was clearly superior to any other in theregion, and, as they were looking to admit new clones, wanted himto ltth let them in onhis secret. He did. ..and the rest is history!Written by: Emily Poole, Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet, GA – June2007 Newsletter.Sometimes you just have to break the rules. Take JuanMagaña, for example. 30 years ago, he had a vision. Afterresearching the best wines in the world, he decided that hewanted to grow Bordeaux in the Navarra region of Spain. Hefound a nursery that sold to St. Emilion and Pomerol, andmost notably the auspicious Chateau Petrus. The nurseryowner even hailed originally from Spain, and knew whatclimate and soil there would grow his vines best. So what wasthe problem? The Spanish government did not permit theplanting of Bordeaux grapes in Navarra! The DO mandatedwhat it deemed the best grapes for each area, and vineyardswere forced to comply. Magaña’s most significant find, Petrusclone #181 class A Merlot, was not included in thegovernment’s choices. So he had to sneak the vines in. Hesmuggled them over the Pyrenees Mountains, managed to getthem into Navarra without incident, and named the first plotafter the nursery owner in France. Thus was created the firstvineyard of Merlot in España. It took him seven years to plantthe vines while enjoying the romantic experience of his dreamcoming to life. He also found, after 7 long years, that he wasbroke!Juan Magañawww.oleimports.comPage 30 February 2013