A Pie de Tierra - Méntrida (Toledo) & Madrid

A Pie de Tierra was formed in 2015 when Aitor Paul, sommelier at Lavinia in Madrid, and David Villamiel finished their training period at the Viticulture and Enology Professional School of Madrid and their stages at Bodegas Valquejigoso and Comando G, respectively. Work started with the family land that David has, which consists of 20 hectares distributed across Méntrida, and supplemented with 4-5 hectares located within the same riverbed but belonging to the neighboring municipality of Aldea del Fresno, Madrid.

A Dos Manos 2018

100% Garnacha from 30-40 year vines in Méntrida (Toledo).

Winemaking: Manual harvest (2nd week of September) in traditional buckets to better isolate the temperature and preserve the freshness of the morning.  Spontaneous, 60% whole cluster, fermentation and 20-day maceration. Malolactic and aging in neutral French oak barrels of 225 liters and stainless for 6 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered in July 2020.

Production: 625 cases

Fuerza Bruta 2018

100% Garnacha from 50-90 year vines in Aldea del Fresno (Madrid).

Winemaking: Manual harvest (September 27) in traditional buckets to better isolate the temperature and preserve the freshness of the morning.  Spontaneous, 100% whole cluster, fermentation and 35-day maceration. Malolactic and aging in chestnut cask of 2,000 liters and used French oak foudres of 1,500 liters. Bottled unfined and unfiltered in July 2020.

Production: 233 cases

RP 92:  A Dos Manos 2018

Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

Issue Date: November 11, 2021

I tasted the bottled version of the 2018 A Dos Manos, the Garnacha from Méntrida on degraded granite soils, and it delivered what the unbottled sample promised last year. It's a ripe Garnacha at 14.5% alcohol, with fully developed flavors and aromas, red berry fruit, herbs and aromatic spices. It's elegant, medium-bodied and almost ethereal with aerial tannins and inner energy. It's not really from Gredos but has more Gredos character than many... 5,000 bottles were filled in July 2020.

RP 93+:  Fuerza Bruta 2018

Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

Issue Date: November 11, 2021

There's more nuance and subtleness in the 2018 Fuerza Bruta than in its sibling A Dos Manos from this same vintage. I had tasted an unbottled sample last year and really liked it. But the bottled version of this Garnacha from the banks of the Alberche River in the province of Madrid has 14% alcohol and very good freshness and is floral, perfumed, elegant and refined. It shows a fine thread on the palate, the grainy tannins from the granite and Garnacha typicity. It comes from vines that are 60 years old on sandy granite soils that deliver a lot of finesse. It fermented with 100% full clusters, had a 35-day maceration and matured in French oak and Galician chestnut foudre for eight months. 5,000 bottles were filled in July 2020.