Maquina y Tabla El Oso y la Alemana Verdejo 2022

El Oso y la Alemana Verdejo

The old vines (pie franco) grow like bush vines on the sandy soils. The grapes are sourced from our farmers in Morales de Toro, Villaester, and El Pego. The Verdejo grapes are harvested by hand in 17 kg crates. Slow and natural fermentation then takes place, the wine is aged in French oak barrels, and winemaker Aurol selects bâtonnage for six months. The wine is bottled unfiltered.

The result? An intense and flavorful white Toro. Excellent freshness, powerful, and full of character. It conveys the sand, heat, and power of Verdejo and the elegance of a small amount of Malvasia.

Machine & Tabla

Máquina & Tabla is a project by the young couple Oriol Illa and Susana Pastor. They work with small, old vineyards throughout Castile and León. The name and labels refer to the struggle between nature and culture. Nature is wild and free, and after a series of beautiful cycles, death is always the end. The landscape, the grapes, the fermentation of the must, and the ageing process are marked by human intervention at the right time and in the most gentle way, ultimately obtaining a wine that best reflects its landscape, its grapes, and human intervention. Máquina means "Machine"—the human factor, and "Tabla" is a piece of wood—nature. Human intervention defines nature.

This small project began in 2012. Before that, Oriol was an oenologist at various small projects and estates in Catalonia and Castile and León. Susana, who previously worked in the art and music world, is the driving force behind the original presentations.

Their wines have been a hit from the start in the small world of Spanish sommeliers. They use only small plots of old vines, which they sometimes searched for a long time before being convinced of their potential. They operate entirely biodynamically and without added sulfites.