Azul y Garanza
Vineyards and Wines of Wild Nature
We seek vibrant vineyards and wines. Hence, in harmony with Nature and at the doorstep of Europe’s largest desert, we practice organic and regenerative viticulture: to regenerate a very poor clay and calcareous soil, stop the erosion, and increase biodiversity in the vineyard.
We utmost respect each plant, each insect… every living being in the vineyard to ensure that the grapes reach the winery as healthy and balanced as possible.
Once in the concrete tanks of our winery, which was the former cooperative of the town, the grapes are transformed into wine with minimal human and mechanical intervention, in an artisanal and sustainable way.
The Story of a Wild Nature
Is it possible to make wine in the desert?
In this 13-chapter series, Fer, María, and Dani share the challenge of working in one of the most unique terroirs for grape growing and winemaking.
They explore the opportunities it offers and the difficulties it presents. The landscape, the soil, the climate, a traditional winery, a shared culture around a table… it all forms part of the same story.
Wild Nature
Wild Nature is a space of great biodiversity, an open landscape to all forms of life, where different species of plants, animals, and insects collaborate to allow life to flourish and endure, first in the form of grapes, and then in the form of wine.
By creating our own ecosystem, we achieve a vineyard capable of nourishing and defending itself. Thus, as Ecological Viticulturists, it aids us in further reducing our intervention, such as the addition of phytosanitary treatments, which in our case, is already limited to the mere use of sulfur and copper sulfate.
The Wild Nature range offers wines of high expression. Three different ways of working with Garnacha grapes: Red, White fermented with skins, and Rosé (a blend of red and white grapes). They have spent 6 months in concrete to refine and mature without losing a bit of their typicality and fruit. They have minimal addition of sulfur and have not been filtered to retain all their identity and intensity.
What Is a Living Soil?
A Living Soil is clean and free from synthetic chemicals. It nourishes plants and is nourished by them. It embraces biodiversity, has soul/is alive, and sustains the landscape of our lives.
By understanding the environment, we can protect it. The desert caresses the vineyard. Working in extremely poor and shallow soil requires extra effort to bring it to life. Therefore, in addition to the vineyard itself, we have planted trees (fruit and ornamental), native bushes, and aromatic plants; we also respect the ground cover and refrain from plowing. With all this, our aim is to enrich the soil and restore the necessary balance for life to return to this arid landscape.
The Living Soil range offers informal, fresh, and fun wines. Living Soil Red is light and very fruity, with minimal maceration during production; and Living Soil White, fermented with skins, is creamy and citrusy. Both have minimal sulfite addition and have not been filtered, preserving all their personality.
A Vineyard of Biodiversity
A Biodiversity Vineyard is more like a forest or a garden than a vineyard. It is an environment full of life: trees, bushes, aromatic plants, birds, mammals, insects, microorganisms... All living beings abundant in the vineyard are also part of our heritage and each has its function.
Insects feed on the pollen of the flowers of aromatic plants and fruit trees surrounding the vineyard, among others, leaving their yeasts on the grape skins. In the winery, these yeasts will cause spontaneous fermentation (without chemicals or artificial processes) and will contribute to the wines with an extensive and unique aromatic range, exclusive to our landscape. This is our Terroir.
The Biodiversity Vineyard range (Vitis, Rosa, Fiesta and Abril) are the youngest and most carefree wines of the winery. In any of their versions, white, rosé, or reds, they are easy to drink and enjoy, perfect for everyday.
Always Classics
A classic is always a classic. But what is a Classic Wine? For us, treating grapes with maximum cleanliness and respect, both in the vineyard and in the winery, never goes out of style.
Wine aging is associated with oak. Although we are now also experimenting with amphorae for this process, we have French, American, and Hungarian oak barrels of 225, 300, and 500 liters, as well as French oak foudres of 1,000 and 3,000 liters. The aim is to provide bouquet and complexity to the wines, without losing the balance or essence of the landscape they come from.
The range of classic wines consists of Garciano, Seis and Desierto, with oak aging of 6, 12, and 18 months respectively. The aromas and nuances provided by the wood blend perfectly with the fruit and intensity that characterize our wines.
Heritage Recovery and Sustainability
The world of vines and wine has always been present in the history of Carcastillo, having great importance both economically, culturally, and socially. From its vineyards of yesteryear, which would now be almost a century old, unfortunately, there are hardly any left, but some we have managed to recover and they have become productive again.
But what has endured is the village winery, which originally was a cooperative founded by the families of Carcastillo in 1940, to make the wine that they used to make in their homes together. In 1999, we acquired it and rehabilitated it to produce our wines in its original concrete tanks, in an artisanal and sustainable way. Thus, returning to Carcastillo the smell of grapes and wine during harvest days.
The concrete tanks where the grapes ferment are narrow and elongated, so with fewer mechanical processes, only light manual pump-overs, we extract the most delicate tannins and polyphenols from the skins. Also, being semi-buried and having thick walls, the building and the tanks maintain a stable temperature for longer, requiring less artificial refrigeration. In addition, we have installed solar panels and windows with smart glass to achieve even greater energy efficiency and sustainability.
Enotourism, as Always
What is now called Enotourism is something that has been done for a lifetime. Traditionally, the doors of wineries have always been open, not only for customers but also for the curious and/or tourists; being the hustle and bustle of daily tasks or the smell of fermenting grapes during harvest big attractions. And ours, of course, is no exception.
To fully understand our project, we offer a complete experience that includes a walk through the biodiversity vineyards, where you can see what ecological and regenerative viticulture consists of at the edge of a desert; a tour of the winery where the history of the building is explained and the concrete tanks where our wines ferment and age are seen; and it is completed with the tasting of wines accompanied by cheeses and cold cuts.
For more information, contact Fernando (WhatsApp).
Contact
About us
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María Barrena Belzunegui
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Dani Nogué Sánchez
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Fernando Barrena Belzunegui