Description
Telmo Rodriguez is one of Spain’s finest winemakers. In a fashion not dissimilar to Alavaro Palacios, Telmo travelled and learnt for many years before returning home to Rioja, where he has improved yet further the quality of a wine that was already outstanding. In addition he supervises négociant projects throughout Spain. This selection includes two bottlings from his Sierra de Gredos project focussing on high altitude old bush vine garnacha and his single vineyard ‘cru’ from the Falcoeira vineyard in Valdeorras.
Pegaso ‘Zeta’ Sierra de Gredos 2018 14.5% £22 – This is the most delicate and accessible of their cuvées. Made from garnacha from across their vineyards and from some of their suppliers. After fermentation with natural yeasts the wine is aged for 6 months in 500l French oak barrels of various ages.
Pegaso ‘Arrebatacapas’ Sierra de Gredos 2016 15.5% £60 – The Arrebatacapas vineyard is a steep, south facing slope at an elevation of 1050m, a vineyard surrounded by junipers, rosemary and lavender. Arrebatacapas is the most important slate landscape in all of Gredos. Considerable quartz veins passing through the slate make this site even more unique. Planted in 1953, this extraordinary 2.1 ha vineyard was abandoned when they found it. In 1999 they started to recover it, and since then Arrebatacapas has been part of another of their wines the Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra. Due to its unique nature, in 2015 they decided to bottle it separately. The grapes, not completely de-stemmed, are fermented with indigenous yeasts. Long maceration and gentle aging for about one year in used 600L oak barrels. 758 bottles were made.
Falcoeira ‘A Capilla’ Valdeorras 2016 12.5% £55 – Falcoeira “A Capilla” is a wine that faithfully represents an old, recovered 2.75 hectare vineyard to which the local wine growers of the Bibei River area attributed the highest value and recognition. It is an intense and profound wine, like the place it comes from. The vineyard was replanted with traditional varieties selected from their very best old vineyards: Mencia, Brancellao, Sousón, Garnacha. 2643 bottles were produced.