Vino Tinto Peña El Gato Natural, Bodega Juan Carlos Sancha (6 unidades)
Bodega Juan Carlos Sancha
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Peña El Gato Natural Red Wine, Bodega Juan Carlos Sancha (6 units)
Garnacha Tinta Peña El Gato Garnachas Viejas is a red wine produced in the D.O.Ca. Rioja by the Juan Carlos Sancha winery in Baños del Río Tobía, La Rioja. Peña El Gato Garnachas Viejas comes from a 95-year-old old-vine Garnacha vineyard located 750 meters above sea level on shallow clay-limestone soils.
$102.32
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Entrega cuidada Producto gourmet seleccionado Origen y productor verificados
Original Made in Spain 2025

Located in Baños de Río Tobía (Rioja Alta), in the coldest area and at the cultivation limit of the D.O.Ca. Rioja. They own vineyards more than 90 years old, as well as others planted in recent years with experimental minority varieties such as Maturana Tinta, Maturana Blanca and Tempranillo Blanco, among others, recovered after a long research process. This counter-current commitment to recovering endangered grape varieties has made it possible to bring back unique varieties such as Tempranillo Blanco and Maturana Tinta.

Technical Sheet

Winery: Estate vineyards in Baños del Río Tobía (La Rioja), harvested by hand.
D.O.Ca. La Rioja
Alcohol: 15%
Variety: 100% Garnacha

Tasting notes: In the glass it shows a red color with violet highlights.

On the nose: it reveals a strong aroma of red fruit (raspberry).

On the palate: fine tannins and great length.

Serving temperature: 16-18ºC

Production: Hand-harvested in 15 kg crates during the last week of October.

Vinification: Destemmed grapes are vatting in 500-liter Tronçais French oak barrels, where alcoholic fermentation takes place. No sulfur dioxide or any other additives are used.

Aging: 11 months of aging on the lees in 500-liter Tronçais French oak barrels.

Pairing: at Made in Spain Gourmet we recommend it with cured meats / grilled vegetables / beef stew / stews / pasta with mushrooms / grilled lamb and aged sheep’s and goat’s cheeses.

Organic Viticulture

The project practices organic viticulture in pursuit of natural wines that are true to their terroir, environmentally respectful and healthy. No pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers are used. Over these years, they have achieved a perfect adaptation of the vineyard to its natural complexity, as well as the development of resistance to disease, promoting proper, organic vine growth.

Their winemaking philosophy is based on the concept of minimal intervention and on preserving purity at every stage of viticulture and winemaking.

Their vineyards are located in Baños de Rio Tobia, in the highest and coolest area of Rioja Alta, at an altitude of 565 to 750 meters above sea level.

The climate, with Atlantic influence, features cold winters, warm summers and long, mild autumns. The wide temperature variation between day and night causes slow ripening, which is highly suitable for the development of polyphenols and aromas, giving our wines great balance and elegance.

Rioja Alavesa: the elite of La Rioja wines

Rioja Alavesa is classified as a subzone within the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin. It has 13,500 hectares of vineyards and several hundred wineries, producing an annual average of around 40 million liters of wine.

The area produces mainly red wines with distinctive general characteristics, such as bright, vivid color, a fine aroma, fruity flavor and a pleasant palate. These traits are due to the area’s clay-limestone soils, which are excellent for allowing vines to absorb the moisture they need. The climate and the location of the vineyards, behind the Sierra de Toloño, also contribute to their quality, protecting the vines from cold northern winds and allowing them to make better use of the warmth.

Red wines are the region’s most representative wines and are made from the Tempranillo varieties (around 79% of the total is produced from this grape), Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano.

Young wines, or reds of the year, are mostly made using the traditional carbonic maceration method, in which whole clusters are fermented in a “lagar” for seven to ten days. Once free of skins and stems, they are transferred to vats where fermentation will be completed.

Crianza, reserva and gran reserva wines, on the other hand, are made using the Bordeaux method, or destemming. This consists of crushing the grapes, removing the stems and macerating the must with its solids for seven days. After several fermentations, they are transferred to barrels for aging. The time spent in barrel and bottle is what marks the difference between crianza, reserva and gran reserva wines.

As rosé and white wines are increasingly appreciated both within and beyond Spain’s borders, winemakers and oenologists are working to produce quality wines from these varieties, seeking to reach every market.

Bodega Juan Carlos Sancha

In Rioja, a Qualified Designation of Origin, one grape variety stands above all others: Tempranillo. However, some winemakers are reviving other native grapes, such as Maturana Tinta. This variety, with small, compact clusters, has excellent color intensity and works beautifully with oak. Aging helps polish its tannins and adds volume and silkiness on the palate. Perhaps its low productivity led it to be gradually sidelined until it became a marginal grape. Today, several wineries are working hard to recover this variety in their vineyards and craft excellent wines from it. Together with a colleague, Juan Carlos Sancha began researching every part of the D.O.Ca. Rioja in an effort to discover and recover native varieties that were on the verge of disappearing forever. Nearly 18 varieties had already been lost in a century, and they did not want this steady decline to continue. Thanks to this painstaking detective work, 27 varieties were saved from oblivion, including Tempranillo Blanco, Maturana Tinta, Maturana Blanca, and Monastel de Rioja, among others. Once these wonderful varieties were protected, the second phase began: producing fantastic wines from those grapes. He has also created highly elegant wines with Garnacha, once the leading variety in Rioja and now very much in the minority. For all of this work, we have come to call Sancha an “artisan and savior.” Bodegas Juan Carlos Sancha is located in Baños de Río Tobía in Rioja Alta, one of the coolest areas of the appellation. The winery has focused its efforts on producing wines from red Garnacha, as well as from minority varieties such as Tempranillo Blanco and the Maturanas, both white and red. Juan Carlos Sancha himself, from his professorship at the University of La Rioja, has participated in the research project to recover native varieties. The 5.5 hectares of vineyards surround the winery and Juan Carlos’s home. The vines, planted at very high densities on poor soils at around 600 meters above sea level, yield grapes of outstanding quality and great concentration. Intervention in the vineyard is minimal and always follows organic principles, with respect for the environment as an essential concept. In a winery with basic equipment, up to six wines are produced, including Ad Libitum Maturana Tinta, Cerro la Isa (Garnacha), and Peña el Gato (Garnacha).
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