Chelva, 2018

I started making wine back in 2003 as a hobby, and lived and worked in isolation till 2009; then I discovered the wine world and realized that I had been making natural wines without realizing it! I’ve worked out of caves, houses and cow-sheds, but 5 years ago I had the opportunity and good fortune to be able to rent a magnificent building, that used to be the village wine cooperative in El Tiemblo (Sierra de Gredos) which had gone bankrupt a few years previously and which was lying empty. It has a capacity for about 1.5 million liters, but I currently just make about 10,000 liters! I make a wide range of wines: young and aged; white, red and orange; in amphora, steel, and wood; I like to vinify each plot separately, and only occasionally do I make a coupage. I either grow my own grapes (3 ha) or buy in from local growers. I use native local varieties, even if they are ‘uncommon’: Airén, Doré, Albillo, Chelva, Malvar, Sauvignon Blanc, Garnacha, Tempranillo, Villanueva.