Cien Y Pico En Vaso Manchuela Bobal 2024

Cien Y Pico En Vaso Manchuela Bobal

Region: Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Vintage: 2024

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Manchuela Bobal

ABV: 13%

A vibrant nose which shows abundant fruit, along with chocolate and earthy notes. Blackberries, blackcurrant and cinnamon spice, along with cocoa and mulberry on the palate. It is soft with juicy tannins, and an uplifting fresh fruit finish.

Cien y Pico's vineyards are all located on the Meseta, or 'plateau', of Castilla-La-Mancha. With only 300mm of rain per year, the plateau is extremely dry; the deep-rooted old vines thrive in the low vigour soils. The mountains surrounding the Meseta offer protection from the icy winters, while in summer the intense sun at this altitude of nearly 1,000 metres warms and ripens the grapes to perfection. The ancient plantings of Bobal vines survive between rocky outcrops that cover the vineyards, where the soils are made up of limestone rich sedimentary red sand and clay.

The four winemakers modestly refer to the wine as 'fresh-picked fruit off the vine during harvest with just a little winemaking'. Vinification is very traditional and simple, with very little intervention. Grapes are fermented on their skins for 12 days. The wine is aged in 225 litre barriques for six months.

When four winemakers, Zar Brooks and Elena Golakova Brooks (Dandelion Vineyards), Luis Jiménez García and Nicola Tucci, discovered old Garnacha Tintorera vines in Manchuela, they were shocked to find them being dug up. Their determination to save and celebrate these ancient vines led to the founding of Cien y Pico. The project's name translates to ‘hundred and something’ as a nod to the age of these historic vineyards.