2015 CUATRO MONOS VITICULTORES "CENICIENTOS" VINO DE LA SIERRA DE GREDOS, MADRID SPAIN (LOW INTERVENTION WINE)

4 Monos (4 Monkeys) is a project started in 2010 by 4 wine savvy friends - Javier García, Laura Robles, David Velasco and David Moreno – in the Gredos mountains, west of Madrid. They work 4 hectares of their own, as well as 10ha with other growers, with parcels located in the towns of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Cadalso de los Vidrios, and Cenicientos. Their mission is to capture the purity of the local old vine Albillo and Garnacha grapes and the granitic soils of the area - by utilizing organic viticulture and natural winemaking methods – such as wild yeasts and whole grape clusters for fermentation, foot-trodding the grapes for minimal extraction, little sulfur, and minimal oak treatment. These wines are weightless and flavorful with lip-smacking granitic minerality and incomparable finesse. Vinos de Madrid is an appellation that encompasses a broad area with 3 subzones around the city of Madrid. The climate is continental with a bit more rainfall than the rest of central Spain. The most prized area for serious winegrowing is called San Martín, west of the city, in the Sierra de Gredos mountain range. Here, there are gently rolling hills of green scrub brush and vines planted on a shallow topsoil of sand over a base of granite. The elevation is quite high, starting at 650 meters, and going up to well over a thousand meters. Cenicientos is comprised of old vine Garnacha, with a small addition of Cariñena and Garnacha Blanca, planted on sandy soils with gneiss and pink granite in the village of the same name. The grapes were whole-cluster cold macerated, wild yeast fermented with 100% whole clusters and 40 days maceration, then raised in 300 and 500 liter used barrels for 12 months. This is a lithe and complex village wine, from high elevation vineyards of the Sierra de Gredos.