Description
About an hours drive west from Madrid, on the eastern edge of the Sierra de Gredos Mountains in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Bernabeleva, or “bear’s forest” was first planted in 1923 by doctor Vincente Alvarez-Villamil.
The Arroyo del Tórtolas parcel emerges from a north-facing 1.2ha plot of 65+-year-old vines growing in sandy soils at about 800m above sea level. It sees a long maceration—often exceeding 40 days—and it typically spends an additional year in large neutral oak barrels before release. Its profile is high-toned, floral, and elegant with strawberry-raspberry fruit and earthy minerality and flecks of crushed black pepper.
“The 2022 Arroyo del Tórtolas is a single-vineyard Garnacha from a plot that achieves higher ripeness, and it has the palest color of the 2022s. This is the wine that they consider “wilder,” and it has higher alcohol (15%) but also higher acidity, which compensates for the ripeness. It’s spicy and heady but delicate, juicy and fine-boned, with very fine tannins and a long finish where you notice the warm year. It fermented with 80% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and had a long maceration of more than 60 days. This wine is quite regular year in, year out. It matured in four used 500-liter barrels and is the one where you feel the élevage in the aromas, but nothing excessive. 2,400 bottles produced.” 94 points, Wine Advocate (LG)
“Bernabeleva is a notable property in San Martín de Valdeiglesias in Gredos, with 35 hectares of 70+-year-old vines and five more hectares planted 15 years ago. They have a wide range of labels that total around 95,000 bottles per year. The vineyards are certified organic, but the wines do not carry the certification. 2022 is Raul Perez’s first vintage and represents the largest crop to date, a year with a warm and dry summer when the young vines suffered, but the old vineyards behaved quite well and delivered balanced wines.”- LG