2021 in most parts of Calatayud moved back to a more traditional cycle with vine phenology returning to a recognisable rhythm after the precocious 2020. Having said that, Philomena left its mark in much of continental Aragon when temperatures plunged to almost 20 below zero the few days following the record breaking snow fall of the 8th to 10th of January. Despite winter dormancy many exposed vineyards suffered vascular damage.

As a result bud burst was very irregular and staggered with some 4 to 6 weeks for full bud-burst in many vineyards. In some cases whole vine arms were lost and pruning decisions for 2022 will have to redirect vigour and growth.

Disease pressure was thankfully lower than 2020 during flowering and set , however a cold snap at the end of fruit set led to some coulure and millerandage in higher and later ripening parcels. Summer was generally dry and mild in the most part with a nice slow gradual ripening. Immediately in the run up to harvest we encountered some early September storms which started to worry growers carrying too much crop. Thankfully, Botrytis did not rear its head in our vineyards due to good grape positioning, sensible yields and the use of new organic techniques such as spraying Bacillus amyloliquefaciens to outcompete any rot.

The wines typically have more malic acid this year due to the cooler ripening period and the wines are crunchy and appealing. We started picking Garnacha before Macabeo ( Macabeo ripened later this year) and we started harvest on the 13th of September and finished on 13th of October in our own vineyards. The 2021 wines remind me of some of the fresher harvests here such as 2004, 2008, 2013 and 2018 in terms of quality.

Fermentation took place in two flextank eggs using only whole berries without crushing to avoid any over-extraction of tannins from skins or seeds. Hand plunged until dry then pressed to age in one egg and one 500 litre, used barrel for 13 months on fine lees before racking and bottling.