Las Moradas de San Martín Las Luces

A first kiss, your first day at work, Halley’s Comet passing by... There are some things that happen just a few times in life; and when they happen, there is always the duty (and the need) to make the most of them. Las Moradas de San Martín Las Luces is one of these things. This is an exclusive and extraordinary single-variety wine of which only six vintages have been produced, when the grapes have been excellent quality.

The Garnacha Tinta is the only variety used to make this red wine produced by Las Moradas de San Martín, a winery founded in 1999 in the Sierra de Gredos and part of the D.O. Madrid. Their 3.25 hectares of vineyards are located in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, one of the four sub-zones this denomination is divided into (and where 35% of the registered vineyards are located). Here, sheltered by the Gredos, this variety grows at an altitude of 900 metres in the La Centenaria plot, on granitic soils and subvolcanic rocks, in a continental climate with the highest rainfall in the area (660 mm per year on average) and northwesterly winds.

All the vines are grown organically, always seeking the best condition and highest quality of the grapes. To achieve this, certain decisions are essential: the method of harvesting (which is done manually), the time (always at night, to guarantee the good condition of the grapes) and their subsequent selection (where only the best grapes are kept). After destemming, Las Moradas de San Martín Las Luces is placed in stainless steel tanks where fermentation starts manually with native yeasts, without corrections or additives. The work of the yeasts lasts about three weeks, where the process and its temperature are supervised at all times.

Once finished and turned into wine, Las Moradas de San Martín Las Luces is directly devatted into new European oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation. It spends 18 months there in contact with its lees and undergoes malolactic fermentation. Finally, Las Moradas de San Martín Las Luces is aged in 1,450-litre foudres for 5 months before bottling.

Finally, Las Moradas de San Martín Las Luces is bottled unfiltered and unclarified. There are lots of things you have to wait years for (Halley’s comet is only seen every 76 years). Fortunately, you don’t have to wait that long to enjoy Las Moradas de San Martín Las Luces. While we keep waiting for the other things, let’s open a bottle of this wonderful wine. The wait will certainly be shorter for Las Moradas de San Martín Las Luces.