For us, this was the gateway drug, the first Verdejo from Manuel Cantalapiedra that really opened our eyes and made us realize that he was trying to do something really special. We had consumed many bottles of his fun and...

100% Verdejo from the La Otea vineyard, which is made up of own-rooted vines older than 150 years, and the Balarto vineyard of 132-year-old own-rooted vines. The soils are sandy, and the vineyards are at 700m to 760m. The whole...

85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, 5% Viura in concrete. Despite being the "entry-level" wine from the bodega, I am told Saul puts the most work into making this wine, and it really shows. The wine is incredibly fresh, with notes of...

90% Viura, 10% Malvasia fermented in concrete and aged on lees for 6 months. White flowers, herbs, melon and tropical fruits shine on the nose. The palate is full-bodied with salinity but texturally more glossy and slick rather than purely...

The Alto de La Huesera plot can be found in the upper part of the San Julian vineyard. This part of the slope is steeper, with white soils and lots of limestone content. Planted mostly to Viura, there are also...

100% Garnacha from a special plot of bush-vines within the Valcavada vineyard. Planted in 1995, this gentle, west-facing slope sits at 600 meters and is comprised of a darker soil, mostly clay and limestone. The wine sees 15 months in...

80% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha from a single vineyard planted in 1990. From mostly free-run juice, though Saul will occasionally stomp on the grapes with his feet. After a cold soak and fermentation in concrete, the wine is aged 15 months...

100% Tempranillo from shallow, calcareous clay soils fermented in concrete and aged 1 year 50% in used 500L oak barrels 50% in concrete. While there is still the freshness associated with the Gil Berzal wines, I found this cuvee to...

El Barranco de San Julian, the vineyard from which this wine is produced, is described by the Berzals as, "the family's special vineyard." Planted in 1930 on a moderately steep slope atop a ravine, the soil is poor with a...

90% Tempranillo, 10% white grapes (Viura and Calagraño) from a single vineyard planted in 1955. The San Julian vineyard encompasses just over 2 hectares of extremely poor, shallow, clay-calcareous topsoil above limestone bedrock (which sometimes comes up to the surface)...

El Espejo comes from a 3.6 hectare vineyard planted in 1999 on a mix of clay, marl and limestone. High in elevation at 750 meters above sea level, and particularly concentrated in clay, this is a uniquely cool site for...

From a father and son team in Castilla y León with three generations of organic farming under their belts, and since the early 2000s, incorporating Biodynamic methods as well. Isaac Cantalapiedra passed on the estate to his son, Manuel, who...