Cantalapiedra Viticultores Majuelo del Chiviritero La Seca 2018

Cantalapiedra Viticultores Majuelo del Chiviritero La Seca 2018

Cantalapiedra Viticultores
$45.00

Grape: Verdejo
Vintage: 2018
Type: White

This white wine comes from the El Chiviritero single vineyard, a small plot of verdejo vines planted in 1981 in La Seca. The Cantalapiedra family hand-harvests the grapes from plots managed under strict organic viticulture on sandy clay and pebble soils over limestone. The winemaking involves a twenty-four hour skin maceration before pressing and undergoing a spontaneous native fermentation in neutral French oak barrels. It ages on its fine lees for nine months before a light filtration.

It pours a pale gold-straw color, opening with clear aromatics of ripe pear, lemon curd, and bitter almond. A medium-bodied frame balances orchard fruit flavors with a sharp, racy line of mineral acidity. The extended lees contact contributes a savory waxy texture that rounds out mid-palate cleanly without heavy volume. Subtle notes of dried herbs and wet rock develop nicely as the wine opens up. It finishes dry, leaving a clean, persistent trace.

Cantalapiedra Viticultores is located in La Seca, a village in the heart of Spain's Rueda appellation. The estate is run by father-and-son team Isaac and Manuel Cantalapiedra, with Manuel, a classically trained pianist, now leading the winemaking. They are a vanguard of minimal intervention winemaking in a region dominated by conventional producers. While Rueda is known for a consistent style of Verdejo, Cantalapiedra focuses on producing single-vineyard bottlings that highlight the unique differences in their terroirs. In the cellar, they use wild yeasts for fermentation and add minimal to no sulfur, relying on natural processes to express the character of their vineyards.