One of the eight producers who created the DO Rueda in 1989, this winery dates back to 1946 but the family has been growing vines in the area for five generations. The work of Félix Lorenzo Cachazo continues today with his children Eduardo, sales manager, and Ángela, winemaker.
Located in Pozaldez (Valladolid), they own 35Ha of vineyards but look after an additional 190Ha including 9Ha of pre-phylloxera vines destined to their barrel-fermented Verdejo. As much as 20 wine growers tend these extremely old vines in the village of Alcazarén, around 30km west of Medina del Campo.
The story of Félix Lorenzo offers and accurate view of what’s changed in the area over the last decades: the large oak vessels which used to store the wine in underground cellars have pretty much gone to make way for technologically-led wines following the success of the Verdejo grape variety. With the new trend for fortified wines, the family has recovered its traditional Dorado, an oxidative wine which fell out of fashion and was only sold at the winery as cooking wine.
Carrasviñas Dorado includes 30% Palomino in the blend. Ángela is proud to have preserved this variety given that most Palomino vines were uprooted in Rueda. Grapes are harvested to reach 15% vol. so no alcohol is added. The oxidative character comes from two years of aging in glass demijohns followed by two more years in oak. Only 1,300 bottles of Carrasviñas Dorado have been produced at this new stage (€18, 75cl bottle) but production is expected to increase in the future. Labels are inspired in the old Cachazo Carrasviñas Amontillado, which showed the name and a picture of the village under the words “Vinos Olorosos de Tierra de Medina”.
This is their tribute to the past, but Cachazo produces 1.5m bottles under the brands Larrúa, Caballero de Olmedo, Gran Cardiel, Manía and the better known Carrasviñas. Some of their entry-level whites blend in 40% of Viura, but most of the estate wines are 100% Verdejo.
Carrasviñas Verdejo (around €7 in Spain, between 600,000-700,000 bottles) is their flagship wine and displays the herbal, aniseed character of the variety as well as stone fruits aromas, so neutral yeasts are regularly used in its production. In contrast, the barrel-fermented Carrasviñas is sourced from very old vines and is made with natural yeasts. A traditional method sparkling Verdejo (10,000 to 12,000 bottles) is also produced.
