Today we begin the harvest at SOMMOS Garnacha, our winery in the Calatayud Designation of Origin.
In Murero, we cultivate old bush vines of Garnacha distributed across different plots in the area. Clay and slate soils, an extreme continental climate, steep slopes, and low yields are some of the defining features that shape the character of our vineyards and our wines.
The weather conditions over recent months, particularly marked by high temperatures and scarce rainfall, have accelerated the grape ripening cycle and led us to start the earliest harvest in our history.
Over the last few weeks, it has been especially important to closely monitor the development of each plot to determine with precision the exact right moment to begin picking.
Despite this early start, as our winemaker José Javier Echandi points out, the quality and concentration of the fruit we are harvesting are very high, allowing us to face this vintage with great expectations.
As Carlos Duque, our director of viticulture, explains, we are facing an especially demanding vintage from a climatic point of view, but with fruit that reminds us of great classic vintages.
Altitude, orientation, soil type, and the unique characteristics of each vineyard mean that not all grapes ripen at the same pace. For this reason, the harvest progresses gradually, following the evolution of each individual plot.
Indeed, one of the main challenges this year has been choosing the optimal time to harvest. For Carlos Duque, phenolic maturity is key to achieving complete and elegant wines, making it essential for the grapes to reach their ideal point without losing the balance and freshness we seek.
The grapes are arriving healthy, balanced, and with an excellent level of ripeness, confirming the positive expectations with which we started this campaign.
Undoubtedly, this will be a vintage marked by early ripening and demanding weather conditions, but also by fruit quality that allows us to anticipate wines of great expression, balance, and character.
