Alto Horizonte Alto de la Cruz

D.O. Cebrebos

Navatalgordo, in the Valley of the Alto Alberche, in the province of Avila

100% Garnacha Tinta

Paraje El Sotillo

1932-1935

Traditional dry-farmed, biodynamic, manual viticulture. The vines are head-trained and the vineyards are plowed by horse.

Primarily granitic sandy soils resulting of the decomposition of the granite mother rock. Given the terraced nature of the plots used for Alto de la Cruz, the sites have accumulated significant quantities of silt between 50-100CM below the surface of the soil. The silty character of the soils, combined with the sand, impart a fluid and fresh character to the wine.

The Sierra de Gredos is one characterized by a high altitude mountain continental climate. From October to May Atlantic weather systems result in periods of high wind and precipitation, and as is characteristic during the summer across Spain, very dry con

After a rigorous selection of the clusters, 30% of the clusters are destemmed but not crushed and transferred to the base of 2,500L stainless steel vats. The rest of the whole clusters are deposited into the tanks. The fermentation begins spontaneously after a 3-4 day pre-fermentative maceration at low temperatures. The maceration is extremely gentle, and is meant to be a "steeping" of the clusters with the must. After fermentation the wine undergoes a gentle press in a vertical basket press.

Malolactic fermentation and ageing are carried out for 14 months in one new French oak 500L puncheon, and one 1,000L earthenware vat.

The Alto Horizonte project is based in the villages of Navatalgordo and Villanueva de Ávila, which are located in the province of Ávila, flanking the north and south banks of the Rio Alberche. The mountainous terrain creates one of the most unique and challenging geographies for cultivating vitis vinifera in all of Spain, which, combined with emigration from the region has resulted in a massive loss of old vineyards, and a total lack of new plantings. Given the variation in the terrain, it is impossible in the Sierra de Gredos to find extensive vineyard sites, resulting in a massive diversity of microparcels of old vines of Garnacha. This is one of the coolest and highest altitude appellations for the cultivation of Garnacha in Spain, and Aurelio and Micaela's goal is to contribute to the celebration of these old vineyards of Garnacha, which form an important part of Spain's viticultural heritage.