Sierra de Gredos Wine Region Guide

Geography and terroir

This great mountain range, west of Madrid, is justly celebrated for its captivating scenery and majestic fauna. The slopes on the range’s south side, extending into Extremadura, are fertile and sheltered, with pinewoods, apple, and olive trees. Yet the northern slopes, defined by their granite and slate boulders, offer impoverished soils indeed. Here, you’ll find scattered parcels of old bush vines – the remnant of a once thriving region. Slowly but surely, the industry is being rebuilt. The winegrowing area spans several valleys and mountain slopes, each with its own macroclimate and unique growing conditions.

Soils are a mixture of granite, quartz, silt, and slate – winemakers believe that vines grown on schist terroir will yield very distinctive wines from the more common granite. The consensus is thus: Granite-based wines are more linear, fresh, and floral; slate terroir gives a more potent, intense expression of the Grenache grape.

Moreover, weather can vary dramatically within the same region with many elevations and aspects. Indeed, a sheltered slope may be bathed in warm sunshine, while a less fortunate climat – or fortunate, depending on your point of view! – is experiencing a deluge. Nevertheless, summers can be very hot and dry.

This is where altitude comes in. Specific vineyard sites rise to around 1,200 meters above sea level, encouraging significant diurnal temperature variation. This makes all the difference in torrid weather; the temperature can be 95°F in the midday August sun, falling to under 61°F at 11 pm. As a result, ripening slows during the cooler nights, helping the berries retain acidity.

Some vineyards are also managed according to organic and biodynamic principles, while the yield is often less than 30 hectoliters per hectare. Such economics are only viable if the critical mass pulls in the same direction, fashioning premium wines that punch above their price point. Fortunately, there are some exceptionally talented winemakers working in Gredos today.

Winemaking and regional classifications

These remarkable wines actually emerge from several appellations rather than a single DO Sierra de Gredos: principally Vinos de Madrid, Cebreros, and Méntrida. Many producers in the Ávila sector now belong to the Cebreros DOP, which began operating under national transitional protection in 2017 and completed its European recognition in 2019. Located in the southeast of Ávila province, it is blessed with some of the finest terroir in the Sierra de Gredos – vines are planted on both sides of the mountain range.

As a rule, bodegas do not trouble themselves with endless experimentation, playing with varieties that have no business there. Instead, they continue searching for the best terroirs for the region’s two signature grapes: Garnacha Tinta and Albillo Real. Garnacha Tinta, however, is the real star of the show.

Garnacha Tinta in Gredos

This once-maligned variety is treated with great reverence in Gredos. Critics often describe top Spanish Grenache as “Pinot Noir-like” due to its relatively light color and red berry bouquet. Most growers conform to this paradigm: few desire heavy extraction or alcohol in their wines. The best of Sierra de Gredos offers crystalline fruit and expressive aromatics, with new oak kept at a minimum.

Yet the range of equipment used can vary considerably – you’ll see concrete and stainless steel tanks, amphorae, concrete eggs, and large vats in these cellars. Some winemakers like to include a certain percentage of stems in the tank; others abhor the practice, arguing that it encourages green tannins.

However, a stylistic coherence defines the vast majority of Grenache wines produced here. Gently and deftly made, they are beautifully aromatic and very fine, with notes of raspberry, garrigue, violets, and fennel – gloriously and unashamedly Burgundian.

Gredos whites are no less impressive. Typically based on Albillo Real, a growing number of wines are treated to a period of skin contact, adding layers of structure, grip, and complexity to a grape that, until recently, was dismissed as hum-drum. The best of this firmament showcases exotic honeysuckle, jasmine, citrus, and apricot notes with a vibrant orange-peel finish. “A food wine” in every sense of the word.

The lowdown

The subject of Grenache can be highly divisive among wine lovers. Memories of alcoholic dross have not yet faded for some collectors; its ubiquitous role as cheap blending material in the 20th century did the grape’s image no favors. And, while individual labels like Palacios’ L’Ermita sell for impressive prices, these are the exception rather than the rule.

The crux of the issue is misapprehension: the mere mention of the word Grenache invokes expectations of jammy fruit and high-alcohol red wines – about as subtle as a fluorescent Ferrari. Granted, some winemakers cheerfully reinforce this stereotype.

Yet, as Telmo Rodriguez and Daniel Ramos have proven, Grenache has many sides to its personality. Savory tannin, fresh acidity, and elegance are all attributes that make wines go temptingly and digestibly with food. The signature variety of Gredos can be delivered in spades, producing wines as ethereal and understated as any Pinot Noir from the Cote de Beaune.

But why here? Why has the Sierra de Gredos enjoyed such a notable success rate with this mercurial grape? Many would say it’s due to an advantageous combination of terroir and climate – soil and situation. The granite and slate soils found across these valleys are part of the equation, although they are not unique to the vineyards of the Gredos mountains.

The area is also blessed with numerous high-altitude sites and old bush vines, again, two important ingredients that can be found elsewhere. Still, encountering so many favorable attributes in one region is rare. And, even more remarkably, this recherché vineyard has managed to attract the best and brightest of Spain’s top winemakers: the elite of the elite.

Add everything up, and you’re left with a formidable force in the world of fine wine. Bodegas who work in the Sierra de Gredos make life easy for oenophiles; it has a signature style. The range of grape varieties marketed is smaller than Navarra, and Garnacha is the mainstay of red production. This is good news for consumers seeking affordable, brilliant, elegant, juicy wines with plenty of fruit.

Meanwhile, Albillo Real is making the transition from super-niche to sommelier favorite. The more famous appellations and regions may hog more international limelight, but they should not be complacent. Gredos is winning critical pundits left, right, and center – and the applause is getting louder. It’s only a matter of time before consumers are won over, too.

Sierra de Gredos gastronomy

The cuisine of the Gredos mountains is considerably more rustic: red meats, trout, patatas revolconas, beans, game, and the produce of the surrounding valleys. Game such as wild boar and partridge is plentiful in the fall and winter; roast meats are heaven paired alongside a glass of Sierra de Gredos red.