2014 Bodegas Margón "Paraje El Santo" Prieto Picudo, Castilla y León, Spain

ABOUT THIS WINE

"El Santo" is a very unique place located in San Pedro de los Oteros. It dates back to 1919 and at that time it was considered by everyone to be an unusual vineyard due to its difficulty in ripening and high acidity. This marked difference lies in its soils which, instead of being clayey like the rest, are sandy. This is what most attracted the attention of the winery to take over this vineyard. This extreme acidity will keep these wines alive for years and years.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

In 1995, Eugenio Gonzalez and Raul Perez began a journey together to learn more about Prieto Picudo and Albarin and how to make wines from these grapes in Leon. After about 10 years of experimentation, they began to build Bodegas Margon in 2006. In 2006 and 2007 they purchased 75 plots, totaling 19 hectares of vineyards with vines aged from 90 to over 100 years of age in the area of Pajares de los Oteros south and west of Leon city.

The soils here are clay based and in some areas there is more sand or some limestone. The two varieties they focus on are a white called Albarin, and a red called Prieto Picudo. Albarin is typically confused with the similar sounding and famous variety Albarino, which it has no relation to as the two varieties are genetically distinct. To us the resulting wines from Albarin have a very Chenin Blanc leaning characteristic. Prieto Picudo is a red variety that is the same as Alfrocheiro, found in Portugal, mostly the Dao but also a bit in Alentejo, and is also the same as Baboso Negro found throughout the Canary Islands. The variety is often confused with Trousseau (or Bastardo in Spain) and while it is genetically a very close relative, it is considered a separate variety. Prieto Picudo grown in Leon tends to be richly colored with aromatics and flavors of bright blackberries and strawberries. Because the variety naturally has a fairly acidic backbone to it, the wines have great lift and energy.

Raul and the team work the vineyards very responsibly – practicing organic and a viticulture style that maintains the local traditions of very low bush pruning techniques. In the winery, Raul works with native yeasts, no to low sulphur and large old wood. Many of the reds see long aging in wood and, somewhat uniquely, in the cases of the single parcel wines, long aging under flor. This process he feels helps to refine the acids and tannins to produce wines of great complexity and elegance.