Majuelo el Espejo 2022

The 2022 Majuelo El Espejo is the third vintage of this single-vineyard Verdejo from a north-facing plot of four hectares planted in 2001 with more clay, gray marl and limestone mother rock and less boulders on the surface. It was first produced in 2020, and in 2021, they only produced wine from part of it because of problems with mildew. They are still not making wine from 100% of the plot; they bottled around 6,700 bottles in 2022, but the idea is to eventually vinify the entire plot and produce 8,000 to 10,000 bottles. As for 2022, they are ecstatic about the quality of the vintage. The bunches were pressed, and the juice fermented in used oak barrels with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in 500-liter French oak barrels and 700-liter Austrian foudres for 12 months plus seven months in stainless steel. This is a little more reductive, with less alcohol than 2021 and a lower pH; 2021 was a little creamier. This is full of energy, with marked salinity and a different aromatic profile than the 2021, and it has lower alcohol, which for Manuel Cantalapiedra is ideal, to show the character of the terroir more. If last year I found commonalities with a Ganevat, this year it makes me think of Coche-Dury... Even if the intention was to give it a longer aging, they only managed to do it starting in 2023, when the élevage will be two years. The wine finished with 13% alcohol, a pH of 3.04 and 6.16 grams of acidity. It was bottled in April 2024. (Luis Gutiérrez)