Winemaker Danny Garcia-Pita Excels at El Regajal Winery in Madrid!
If you visit this winery, also home for many weddings, the attraction is not only the wine, but, the butterflies, which obviously inspired the vineyard to choose tasteful butterfly focused wine labels for their bottles.
Since nature has always been the goal and philosophy of the winery, the winemaking facilities are underground, so as not to interfere with the landscape of the property, which houses olive trees, fruit trees and plants.
The bodega has been home, since the 1800.s , to butterflies.
Presently, there are seventy-seven (77) species.
Many are rare.
On a recent visit to the vineyard, this February, I had the opportunity to spend much of the day with winemaker Garcia-Pita.
My outcome of the day was obvious, He is a man with a vision who makes exceptional wines that consistently receive high ratings..An old friend of mine, Nicola Thornton , founder of the Spanish Palate (www.spanishpalate.es) arranged the visit and afternoon meal at a local eatery.
We tasted several wines in the back room of the restaurant from Nicola’s ‘Spanish Palate portfolio. I’ll mention them at a later date on FB. What the day was about was Danny and his wines.
What I learned from the winemaker was that his blends proportions were different each year.
His winemaking techniques include biodynamic practices, controlled fermentation, malolactic fermentation and up to date berry selection. Both oak and stainless steel are used for aging.
New vines were planted in 1998 through 2001.
The varieties planted focused on Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Merlot. The 2,000 foot altitude property houses the 40 acres of vineyard, which produce close to 100,000 bottles annually, The elevated location, with hot summers with cool nights. A microclimate is the end result,
Walking through the vineyards, it was not hard to notice the chalky top soil, which gave way to a sandy base that had clay characteristics seeping through the middle layer.
The biodynamic philosophy incorporates the idea that ‘soil is a living being,’ which winemaker Danny Garcia-Pita observes.
With all this in mind and a quality vineyard miles from the Prado, it was hard to comprehend what my reaction would be to the wines. The story was enticing, but, would the wines match-up to the foreplay?
I’m happy to say the two wines (several vintages) from the vineyard that I tasted threw me off the edge. Not only did all of the wines taste well above their price point, all of the wines had the same above average quality that made your palate ask for more.
In a project with Jerome Bougnaud, Regajal produces a wine that uses grapes from in and around the Ribera del Duero region. Higher altitude, along with old vines paired with microclimates insure the grapes used in the wine, Galia,, success. Tempranillo (87%) Ganacha (9%) Albillo (4%) make up this wine from Castilla y Leon.
Look for any vintage of:El Regajal wines and you will find terroir driven wines that are medium to full bodied, fruit driven and food friendly.with a long finish.
I am fully impressed and satisfied with all the wines I sampled. Try any vintage of the ‘Butterfly Wines’ and see if you agree with me.
El REGAJAL Seleccion Especial
Las Retamas del REGAJAL (French oak)
Also, GALIA (Castilla y Leon)
Philip S, Kampe
Philip.kampe@thewinehub.com
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