Location
The geographical area of the Protected Designation of Origin Vinos de Cebreros is located southeast of the province of Ávila. Traditionally this area has been known as "Cebreros" as far as the vineyard is concerned, although as you know it covers a total of 35 municipalities. . This gives the area a total area of 1,663.16 km2, of which 85% corresponds to the Garnacha Tinta variety, 10% to Albillo Real and the remaining 5% is distributed between Garnacha Tintorera and Tempranillo.
Wines
The wines produced in the PDO Cebreros are white, rosé and red, both young and aged, which have in common some special characteristics that are a consequence of the land in which our Garnacha Tinta and Albillo Real are grown: They are elegant, tasty , fine and very lively balance between alcohol and acidity, in addition to a high longevity.
Passion
It all started with a dream , made possible by many people: winemakers, winegrowers, hoteliers, hoteliers, artisans, tourism people, all united with one goal, the DOP Cebreros. As Rafael Mancebo, current president of the PDO Cebreros, says " where others saw abandoned vineyards , I saw a future, work and opportunities."
Real Taste by MS & MW
A select group of Masters of Wine (MW), Master Sommeliers (MS) and a London-based head sommelier had the opportunity to visit one of the up-and-coming PDOs in Spain: Cebreros in Aug 2019. They started with a local grape variety that none of us were familiar with: Albillo Real. The resulting wine is aromatic and open on the nose, with notes of tropical fruit such as mango, pineapple and banana, as well as a touch of white flowers and salinity.
On the palate it is creamy and tastes of candy, with characteristics of crème brûlée, dairy and very pleasant notes of white pepper and ginger, which reminded me of a Viognier, like those from the Rhône Valley in France.
Cebreros’ Garnacha was the biggest surprise for all of us, given that, as professional tasters, we tend to associate it with full bodied wines with overripe fruit, high alcohol content, moderate tannins and medium/low acidity, like those from Gigondas (France), Barossa Valley (Australia) and Paso Robles (USA).
But this perception changed the moment that we tasted the wine from the fourth and fifth producers in the area, as we found those Garnachas to be very aromatic, with a fresh touch of strawberry and cherry as well as violet and rose petal aromas. On the palate, they were elegant and fine, with flavours of herbs and rosemary, finishing with an amazing minerality noted by crushed rock and pure granite. They were just awesome!
As we went up in altitude (in term of tasting), all these attributes and characteristics were increasingly noticeable. Piort Pietras MS whispered in my ear: "This Garnacha is incredible! What’s the name of the producer again?"
Ref.:
dopcebreros.com
foodswinesfromspain.com
