4 Monos Viticultores "GR-10" Tinto 2023

This wine has a lovely nose of blueberries, dried herbs and subtle sloes. The palate is medium-bodied with fresh fruit, balanced and framed by the tannins without being excessive. 90% Garnacha and a small percentage of both Cariñena (Carignan) and Syrah, GR-10 Tinto is the Vino de Sierra or "villages level" red from several parcels in Cadalso de los Vidrios, San Martín de Valdeiglesias & Cenicientos. The grapes were mostly kept whole cluster, for a a fullness of texture and fruit. Tart red fruits and a pleasant earthiness carry through in every sip. 

4 Monos (4 Monkeys) is a team of four friends and lovers of wine native to this region. As is typical of The New Spain, this “gang of four” assembled in a less conventional manner: they met while hiking in the Gredos mountains, one of the most profound wine terroirs to emerge in recent years. "GR-10" is the name of the trail where they met.

Located 80 km west of Madrid, the Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range that spreads over parts of three appellations – Méntrida, Vinos de Madrid, and Castilla y León – and sits between 600 and 1200 meters in elevation. Old bush vines planted on sand, granite and schist intermingle with sweet-scented olive, evergreen, almond and chestnut trees, scrub brush, chamomile and wildflowers. This is a landscape that feels like a holy collision between the Mediterranean and the Alpine, and the region is often deemed magical for its beauty and immense diversity.

It is this terroir that 4 Monos champions with organic farming, and articulates so beautifully with their utterly crystalline and transparent wines. 4 Monos is comprised of winemakers Javier García (formerly the head winemaker at Méntrida icon Bodegas Jiménez-Landi) and Laura García, wine-lover David Velasco and vineyard holder David Moreno. Over ten years they have acquired five hectares of their own vineyard parcels, a small bodega with built-in concrete tanks in Cadalso de los Vidrios, and are also working another 5 ha with local growers who share their passion for organic farming practices. By putting a focus on the land and the variances in terroir from village to village, they have brought the potential of the Gredos terroir to the world’s attention and revived production from grapes such as Morenillo and Cariñena.

Minimalism reigns supreme in their cellar. They pick the grapes as soon as they achieve initial ripeness and vinify using whole grape clusters, gentle extraction, and aging in neutral oak of varying sizes. The grapes are typically cold macerated 50% whole cluster and 50% de-stemmed, wild yeast fermented for 30-40 days, then raised in 300, 400 and 500 liter used barrels for nine months.