A declared wine lover, Spanish entrepreneur Alfonso Cortina used his hunting estate in Ciudad Real, very close to Cabañeros Natural Park and the Mountains of Toledo, to set up his own wine project in the late 1990s. Carlos Falcó, who pioneered high-quality wines in Castilla-La Mancha, is based nearby and encouraged him to take the leap into winemaking. It is a sad coincidence that both businessmen died during the coronavirus pandemic between March and April 2020.
Cortina, who at the time was president of Repsol, the oil and energy giant, initially hired Richard Smart as consultant for his first plantings. Since the estate had no winegrowing background, they opted for Bordeaux and Rhône varieties including Viognier which at the time was –and still is– scarcely grown in Spain. 2006 was the first vintage in the market. The estate was awarded the Vino de Pago classification in June 2019.
The current surface under vine totals 31 hectares distributed as follows: Cabernet Sauvignon (8Ha), Syrah (7Ha), Merlot (6Ha), Viognier (5Ha), Cabernet Franc (3Ha) and Petit Verdot (2Ha). Future plans expect to reach 50Ha.
The winery is large, tidy and functional. Around 200,000 bottles are produced at the moment but the project was designed to reach 300,000 bottles. All wines are fermented in stainless still tanks except for some white batches. Oak vats are used for reds to undergo malolactic fermentation. The Boissenot family —reputed consultants from Bordeaux even if Michel Rolland is the name everyone knows— are great experts in blends and count most first growths as their clients. Vallegarcía is their sole Spanish client and their work there is focused on refining tannins.
The range of wines distinguishes between Bordelais and Rhône grapes. Petit Hipperia (around €12.5 in Spain, 90,000 bottles) blends Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with variable percentages based on the characteristics of each vintage. Hipperia (around €25) is the high-end version of a similar blend. There are two wines named Vallegarcía: a 100% Syrah (€19-20) and Vallegarcía Viognier (€19 in Spain), a blend of wines matured in barrel and stainless steel. Time is kind to this wine as we experienced first-hand with the 2005 vintage tasted on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the winery. There is also an entry-level, single-varietal Viognier called Miriade (around €8) which doesn’t see any oak at all.
