Bodegas San Alejandro 'Evodia' Garnacha, Aragon

An elegant expression of Garnacha with effortless notes of raspberry, sweet and sour cherry laced with distinctive minerality and herbal tones. Smooth and full of finesse.

Producer Note

Bodegas San Alejandro is a leading Garnacha specialist based in the heart of the Calatayud appellation in Aragon, northern Spain. The cooperative was founded in 1962 and today it has 150 growers, with 1,200 plots covering 950 hectares of vineyard. Garnacha has adapted to suit the extreme natural conditions of the area; the vineyards are situated at elevations of up to 1,100 metres, with contrasting hot days and cool nights. The elevation provides good air circulation, promoting vineyard health which has enabled the vines to be traditionally cultivated in a very natural way and with limited use of treatments. From 2019, Bodegas San Alejandro is converting to organic status, a process which will take approximately four years.

Vineyard

The grapes come from old Garnacha vines, with an average yield of 4,000 kilograms per hectare. The soils are varied; calcareous, clay and shale with each terroir imparting subtle complexity to the wine. The vines are grown at high altitude, ranging from 800 to 1,000 metres elevation. The extreme climate of hot days and cool evenings promotes a long, ripening period concentrating the flavours and aromatic complexity of the grapes. The vineyards are farmed with respect for the environment; the soils are ploughed, canopy management takes place by hand, with laterals being removed manually. Limited sulphur treatments are used and the grapes are manually harvested.

Winemaking

The grapes were de-stemmed and the uncrushed fruit was fermented with a neutral selected yeast lasting 20 days. Soft extraction techniques were used to obtain colour, flavour and structure. Post fermentation maceration lasted for seven days using the topping-up technique, which obtained a more balanced extraction and reduced the risk of oxidation in the grapes. 20% of the blend underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel; 10% was matured in second use French oak barrels, to impart subtle complexity, while 90% was aged in concrete tanks to retain the purity of fruit.

Tasting Note

An elegant expression of Garnacha with effortless notes of raspberry, sweet and sour cherry laced with distinctive minerality. Smooth with a savoury note on the palate, this is full of finesse.

Grape

Garnacha 100%