A Pie de Tierra 2018 Fuerza Bruta
This wine is 100% Garnacha made by the dynamic duo at “A Pie De Terra”. Formed in 2015, Pie de Terra is one part Aitor Paul, a Madrid sommelier, and one part David Villamiel, a Méntrida winegrower. Both trained at the Viticulture and Enology Professional School of Madrid, going on to internships at Bodegas Valquejigoso and Comando G, respectively. The latter is especially well known for their outstanding work of bringing the full expression of the granitic soils of Sierra de Gredos (in the greater Madrid DO) to the glass with their stellar wines.
The result of their work with this vintage is a lively, fresh nose of red and black raspberry that carries into the palate where it’s joined by hints of earth and dried twigs. It’s a clear red in the glass, lithe in body, yet with enough grainy tannins to remain serious. It further develops with time, the opened bottle making for joyous second-day drinking with added hints of warm spices.
David and Aitor’s work together started with David’s family’s land, which consists of 20 hectares distributed across Méntrida, supplemented with an additional 4-5 hectares located within the same riverbed but belonging to the neighboring municipality of Aldea del Fresno, Madrid. The grapes for this wine come from 60-year old vines growing in granitic alluvium (think decomposed granite) soil amongst oaks, willows, and ash. The grapes were fermented whole-cluster for 35 days, resulting in a light, translucent wine. The wine was aged in large Galician chestnut foudres, which allow controlled oxidative aging without imparting oak flavors and tannins.
