Vagüera El Maderal 2018

The village white from El Maderal (Zamora), the 2018 Vagüera comes from a very small north-facing plot at 950 meters in altitude planted with Doña Blanca vines on red clay soils with limestone surrounded by oak and pine trees. The clusters were pressed and the juice put to ferment in barrel with their own yeasts, and the wine matured in a 700-liter oak foudre and 225-liter barriques for 12 months and rested for a further six months in stainless steel. Like the rest of the wines here, it has moderate alcohol (13%) and a very healthy pH but fully developed flavors, especially in this slow-ripening year. This is a lot more aromatic, floral and showy than the Las Vidres. Even though Doña Blanca is neutral, it's a grape that can transmit the soil and landscape; this vineyard is surrounded by wild vegetation, a place with trees and life, and the wine is a lot more expressive and more opulent. There's also something umami-like and reminiscent of meat stock and something salty; it's very tasty. 1,973 bottles and 60 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2020. - Luis Gutiérrez.