Cuevas de Arom As Ladieras 2020
93 POINTS: Luis Gutierrez; Robert Parker's - The Wine Advocate
50+ year old vines, off Slate, quartzite & sand soils at over 800 meters altitude.
"Like the other wines, the 2020 As Ladieras could almost be a different wine. The grapes come from sloped vineyards on slate soils at 800 meters in altitude and were fermented with full clusters in concrete with indigenous yeasts and had a maceration of 55 days. It matured in a combination of concrete eggs, oak foudres and underground concrete tanks. It has medium ripeness, 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.36, floral, perfumed, aromatic, elegant and expressive. This is a very refined expression of Calatayud, medium-bodied and very tasty, with very fine, grainy tannins. 8,000 bottles were filled in September 2021."
- Luis Gutierrez; Robert Parker's - The Wine Advocate
With the 2020 vintage, Fernando Mora moved As Ladieras cuvée to a single, north-facing hillside of 50+-year-old, head-pruned vines of Garnacha in Calatayud. This relatively cooler site with its sandy slate and quartzite soils is considered the 1er cru of Cuevas de Arom. Only 650 cases and a few magnums are produced in an average vintage.
The team continue to search for high altitude vineyards to achieve fresher wines and conditions that allow for more precise wine-making, Bodegas Frontonio y Bodegas San Alejandro have joined together to fulfill a common dream: to create one of the best garnachas in the world during the next 20 years.
ABV 13.5%