From Plateau to Mountains: The Many Facets of Vinos de Madrid DO

So it may come as a surprise that Spain's capital is home to a wine appellation with nearly 6,000 hectares of vineyards, starting just a few kilometres from the city. "We have very different terroirs, so we have divided the denomination into four sub-zones," explains Mario Barrera, technical director of Vinos de Madrid DO. "The San Martín zone, for example, is characterized by granite soils and the Arganda zone by limestone."

One vigneron who knows both sub-regions well is Marc Isart. His Cinco Lenguas winery is located in the eastern Arganda zone, in the picturesque town of Chinchón. It has a long wine history, as evidenced by the ancient cellars beneath the houses. Some still contain the clay amphorae in which the wines were once fermented. In the 19th century, before the arrival of phylloxera, the Madrid region had 60,000 hectares under vine and Arganda was a major supplier of white and rosé wines (claretes) to the city of Madrid. Today it is the largest of the DO’s sub-zones, with vineyards on a high plateau and a continental climate of cold winters, hot summers and strong contrasts between day and night. In autumn you may need a winter jacket in the morning and sunscreen in the afternoon.

Marc Isart's oldest vineyards date from the 1930s and are planted mainly with the indigenous white Malvar and the black Tinto Fino, also known as Tinta Madrid. This local clone of Tempranillo has thicker skins than in Rioja, for example, and therefore higher tannin levels. Isart also draws inspiration from the region's traditions: "My idea is to revive the flavours of the past and make wines as they were made before the industrialization of the Spanish wine sector in the 1990s". For him, this means abandoning temperature control and oenological products in favour of spontaneous fermentation, skin-contact for white wines or the use of amphorae, concrete and used oak barrels. The wines are simply delicious, pure and without make-up, with an emphasis on drinkability and personality, and moderate to low alcohol levels.

Moving from east to west, from the plateau to the mountains.

As with Arganda, Isart has been a pioneer in the sub-zone of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, where the first vintage of his latest project, Salvajes de Gredos, is about to be released. The zone is part of the Sierra de Gredos, a vast mountain range to the west of Madrid that spans five provinces and three wine appellations, including Vinos de Madrid DO. The region has become a hotspot for what some critics have dubbed the 'New Wave of Spanish Wine'. "Gredos is a unique combination of very old Garnacha vineyards, granite soils and high altitudes in a specific mountain climate. There is no other place like it in the world," says Dani Landi of Comando G. Their Las Umbrias vineyard, from which they make a single-plot red, is the highest in the Madrid appellation at an altitude of around 1,000 metres. Over the last decade, they and other producers from the San Martín sub-region, such as 4 Monos, Bernabeleva, Carlos Sánchez and Marañones, have changed the perception of Spanish reds and contributed to the renaissance of Garnacha in Spain. They have achieved this by showing a new and distinctive side of the variety, emphasizing elegance and freshness.

Many Gredos reds are pale in colour due to gentle extraction. They seem light but are in fact vibrant and layered, with plenty of minerality. The grapes are often fermented with their stems to add phenolic grip and freshness. Alongside the classic Garnacha aromas of red fruit and white pepper, you can find floral, herbal and ethereal notes. Some critics call these wines "Burgundian", but the region has its own identity and is extremely diverse. Annual rainfall can vary from 400mm to 900mm depending on the valley and the location of a village. It is therefore logical that most producers follow a terroir-based classification with regional, village and single-vineyard wines.

There are also stunning white wines made from the indigenous Albillo Real grape. According to sources, it was favoured as a table and wine grape at the royal court in Madrid as early as the 16th century. "The most striking thing about Albillo Real is its mouthfeel," says Isabel Galindo, winemaker at Bodegas Las Moradas de San Martín, whose biodynamic Albillo Real comes from bush vines up to 90 years old. "You get silky and creamy textures, saltiness and a slightly bitter twist". Galindo also highlights the typical aromas of the variety, such as honey, lemon and white flowers.

Madrid's wines are distinctive.

There are two other sub-regions: El Molar, to the north of the capital, has by far the smallest area under vine. Navalcarnero, on the other hand, lies to the south of the city. "It is a transitional zone between the plateau of Arganda and the mountainous area of San Martín," explains Aitor Paul of the A Pie de Tierra winery. "Here you can find wines that are more powerful, like in Arganda, but also more delicate, like in San Martín."

In terms of style, A Pie de Tierra leans towards the delicate side. Their Garnacha 'Fuerza Bruta' comes from a vineyard planted in 1956. Due to the sandy quartz-granite soil, the pH of the wine can be as low as 3.0 in some years. The plot is also surrounded by trees and a river. "This means that the soil has more moisture and our vineyard is always some degrees cooler than the surrounding area," says Aitor Paul. The result of this specific soil and microclimate is a subtle, crisp and energetic red, and further proof that the DO Vinos de Madrid is a haven for terroir-driven fine wines. The world's great wine regions all have their own traditions, flagship grapes and distinctive terroirs. Madrid has them too. Time to discover.