Graciano Grano a Grano

Accolades

2017
96 Points - Robert Parker
93 Points - Tim Atkin MW

2016
96 Points - Robert Parker

2015
95 Points - Robert Parker

Tasting Notes

There are only 1,700 bottles of this Graciano bottling, sorted berry by berry in the winery. The fruit comes from five plots throughout San Vicente, Ábalos and Labastida. Showing the grip, acidity and firm tannins that define the variety, it's chewy, serious and made to age, with tobacco, earth and damson intensity.

Winemaking Notes

When Abel and Maite first started working with Graciano, they were unsure as to how it would perform on its own, as it is very different to Tempranillo with higher pH and acidity. Over time, they learned that Graciano needs to be handled differently in the vineyard. It performs best in higher altitude plots and needs more hang-time to ripen fully. It is also very sensitive to sulfur use in the vineyards and is usually picked last due to its long ripening time.

Similar to their white varieties, most of the Graciano vines are interplanted among other varieties throughout their vineyards. Only one small plot is dedicated to Graciano, and this was planted by Abel through cuttings he grafted from the older plots. Altogether they farm around 8 plots with Graciano, the oldest of which is more than 70 years old.

2003 was the birth year of both the Tempranillo Grano a Grano and the Graciano Grano a Grano. “Grano a Grano” literally means “Grape by Grape”. Each cluster of fruit is destemmed by hand. The idea is to separate the stems from the fruit and not to break the berries at all. During harvest, they invite some friends over and start destemming.

The aim is to get the fruitiness they get in the carbonic maceration Jarrarte into a more serious wine. Fermentation starts inside the berries and then the fruit is stomped by foot. The wine is made in small tanks of no more than 1,200 kgs. After alcoholic fermentation, the wine is placed into a mix of new 225 and 500 liter French oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation takes place in the barrel and the wine aged for 18 months before being bottled.

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