Jon Aseginolaza and Pedro Leunda are two Basque wine-loving friends (Jon was born in Donostia-San Sebastián; Pedro in Orio) who studied Biology at the University of Navarra. Jon went on to do a degree in agricultural engineering and became an environmental consultant; Pedro did a PhD in ichthyology (the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish) and worked for a public company. A few years ago, Pedro was going through a difficult time and was advised to look after a vegetable garden so that he could have a place to rest and relax. Then came the opportunity to buy Santa Zita.
Santa Zita is a small plot of land in San Martín de Unx, in Navarra's Baja Montaña. It consists of a hut, a goblet-trained Garnacha vineyard with vines between 30 and almost a hundred years old, a few olive trees among the vines, a fig tree, a walnut tree and the usual assortment of Mediterranean aromatic plants (thyme, fennel...). The leisure paradise of the retired gentleman from Guipuzcoa who sold them the property was not exactly a vegetable garden, but it became the seed of one of the most interesting wine projects to emerge in Navarra in recent years.
“We started in wine as amateurs, almost like consumers,” says Jon Aseginolaza. "We made our first wine from the Santa Zita vineyard in the 2016 vintage. We shared it with friends and they really liked it. Dani Corman [renowned sommelier and owner of Essencia wine shop in San Sebastián] suggested that we apply for a registration number from the health authorities, and we realised that there was a niche for this type of wine."
The following year they produced two more single vineyard reds, Kauten and Camino de la Torraza, and their first Cuvée. Considering that total production was still under 3,000 bottles, they say that they didn't really break into the market until the 2018 (almost 5,000 bottles) and 2019 (just under 10,000 bottles) vintages were released, and they continued to expand the range. Since then, things have gone faster. Despite working at a rented space in a winery in San Martín de Unx, the duo already grows six hectares of vines (some are their own; others are rented) and expect to produce 30,000 bottles in the 2023 vintage. The ceiling stands around 50,000.
The wines are not sold under any geographical indication. Given that it all started as a hobby, working under the seal of a DO seems foreign to them. Some of the old plots they farm were left unattended, didn't appear in the vineyard register and had to be legalised one by one, which meant a lot of paperwork. Nevertheless, they do not rule out the possibility of joining the DO Navarra in the future.
The motivation behind Aseginolaza & Leunda is the never-ending quest to explore the different soils and terroirs of northern Navarra. Garnacha is their favourite grape because "it is very versatile and expresses the terroir", but they also work with Tempranillo and Viura, planted alongside Garnacha in some of the plots they have rented. Although not very common in the area, their second love is Mazuelo (Cariñena), especially since they carried out a successful co-fermentation with Garnacha using grapes from a vineyard further south in Azagra, in the Navarra part of the DOCa. Rioja.
Although it all began in San Martín de Unx, their presence in this Garnacha-friendly village is restricted to the Santa Zita vineyard. A large part of the grapes for Aseginolaza & Leunda's wines come from rented plots in Dicastillo and surrounding villages such as Allo and Arellano, in the Tierra Estella sub-region, some 50 kilometres northwest of San Martín. The combination of soils and elevations as one climbs the southern slope of Montejurra is particularly interesting in this area. According to Jon Aseginolaza, the higher rainfall, soils and aspect of Dicastillo make it a little fresher, and the wines offer a combination of red fruit and sapid nuances from the limestone soils.
The silence that reigns in La Hoya vineyard at 9am on a mid-September day is an excellent antidote to stress and apathy. The grapes have already been harvested, but the leaves are a bright, intense green. A few days ago, however, the scene was very different. 2023 was proving to be a relatively cool vintage in the northern wine regions of Navarra until the final heatwave of August, with severe sunstroke and high night-time temperatures, caused the grapes to raisin. The rain that followed in September (over 200 litres in the first fortnight in Dicastillo) relieved the plant but came too late to benefit the grapes.
At 500 metres elevation, in the lower part of the village, La Hoya is a 1.8 hectare, 70-year-old plot planted with a third Garnacha, a third Viura and a third Tempranillo. Its owner remembers watching the vines being planted when he was a child - the cuttings were brought in from Bargota, another village in the province of Navarra that belongs to the DOCa. Rioja. The grapes from La Hoya are used to make the entry level reds Birak and Matsanko and part of the Cuvée.
Jon and Pedro speak to each other in both Spanish and Basque, and they have chosen Basque names for most of their wines. Birak means turns or tours, a way of explaining all the thinking that went into making the most affordable (€8) and fruity red in the range. It consists of 12% Tempranillo from La Hoya, plus some Garnacha from this vineyard and other plots in Olite, and other grapes bought from suppliers.
Matsanko (meaning whole cluster) is a tribute to 'cosechero' carbonic maceration wines. The wine is a field blend from La Hoya with 85% Tempranillo plus Viura and Garnacha. After nine months in seasoned French oak (their preferred ageing option), this is their most consistent red, with well-integrated tannins, fresh but with a different style and philosophy to their Garnacha-based wines.
This is not the case with the Cuvée, a selection of the best Birak barrels blended with some additional ingredients. Tempranillo accounts for barely 5% of the blend, with Garnacha taking the limelight to create a juicy palate with plenty of fresh herbal notes. The wine is rounded off with 20% Mazuelo from Alberite in Rioja (such are the benefits of being outside the appellation), which provides a burst of energy and blue fruit nuances. "The wine hasn't always had Mazuelo," admits Pedro, "but Jon didn't stop until he got it back.” It works wonders indeed. Priced at €18 in Spain, the Cuvée beautifully shows the stylistic and intellectual ground that Jon and Pedro love, especially in the 2021 vintage, which has an addictive freshness and vibrancy.
For just a little more, Cuvée Las Santas (fewer than 1,500 bottles in the 2020 vintage, €24) is a blend of the cooler, higher-elevation plots. The wine was first released in 2019, when they didn't make any single-vineyard wines due to extremely low yields, and decided to blend them all together. The mix of sites currently includes villages from the Valdizarbe sub-area, such as Barásoain or Muruzábal, together with the Distingo vineyard, located at over 600m elevation on the slopes of Montejurra. It is an isolated, rather chaotic plot, yet charming and sheltered by the forest. According to Pedro and Jon, at this level Garnacha "dances on the palate". The truth is that Las Santas is strongly reminiscent of the landscape (brandied fruit, fragrant herbal notes), the texture is refined and silky, and the finish is persistent, with notes of white pepper.
Pedro and Jon are committed to making wines that are pleasant to drink, with more tension than volume. According to them, exposure makes a world of difference. They see big contrasts between vineyards facing north and south in San Martín and east and west in Dicastillo. "The north and east exposures result in finer and more complex wines," they explain. They also distinguish between the eastern and western halves of the province, seeing a stronger Atlantic influence in the vineyards in the west, at the foot of the Urbasa, Lóquiz and Sierra Cantabria mountain ranges in the sub-areas of Tierra Estella and Valdizarbe, and a Mediterranean character in the Baja Montaña area in the east, where many vineyards overlook the Pyrenees.
The lessons learnt over these years have prompted the duo to harvest earlier, to be less reluctant to use whole bunch fermentation and to work with moderate alcohol levels compared to the almost 15% abv of their first vintages. In Santa Zita, the first vineyard to bud, the harvest date has been brought forward from 6 October in the early days to 30 August in 2023.
Working with lower alcohol and crisp berries brings out citrus and floral notes; the black fruit fades to reveal violet aromas. Now they are exploring the limits of Garnacha's full expression, given the variety's naturally high sugar production. "At 13.8% you find a lot of nuances, but below that we start to see some shortcomings," warns Jon. As for the use of the stalks, "the fermentation is more uniform, feels more natural, starts better and the temperature doesn't soar, although the pressing is much more demanding," notes Pedro. However, this does not mean that the wines are light in colour or lack structure.
One of the most compelling single-vineyard wines in the portfolio is Camino de Santa Zita (€25). In the 2021 vintage, the wine from what could very well be called 'vineyard zero' shows the evocative character expected from top Garnachas, but its most distinctive feature is the tension it provides on the palate and the chalk-like tannin that could result in a wine capable of ageing well in the bottle. Along with the herbal notes that emerge, there are floral and spicy hints that add complexity and are somewhat different from the Mediterranean profile of most Garnachas from San Martín de Unx. This may be due to the north-east exposure or to the sandstone soils on which the vineyard is located, which, they point out, are not very different from those of Laguardia in Rioja Alavesa. After all, both vineyards are located at a similar latitude.
The problem with single-vineyard wines is that they are made in tiny quantities, rarely exceeding 500 bottles. Santa Zita is the most regular of the range and the only one I tasted during my visit. Camino de Otsaka, made so far in 2016, 2018 and 2021, comes from a tiny 0.2ha goblet-trained vineyard in Barásoain (Valdizarbe). Camino de La Torraza was the wine that helped them discover Mazuelo. Located in Azagra, it is a blend of 70% Mazuelo and 30% Garnacha. It was released in 2017, 2018 and 2020, but not in 2019, 2021 or 2022.
I was not able to taste Kauten (€14), one of their best-known wines and another exception, not because of the grape variety, as it is also made from Garnacha, but because it is sourced from a relatively young trellised vineyard of their own. This is a terrace in the upper basin of the Cidacos River, one of the highest spots in Olite, with poor clay-limestone soils alternating with stony areas. The property includes an exotic plot of Italian Malvasía, which they have turned into an experimental wine. This and other rarities are part of the Beltza range (beltza means black in Basque and the labels are presented in this colour), a range that also includes a Tempranillo and a Syrah.
Part of the range since the 2019 vintage, Txuria (white in Basque, €15, around 3,500 bottles) is a Viura made 50% in stainless steel and 50% in French oak. Partly sourced from La Hoya and partly from Andosilla (Rioja Navarra), it is worth trying for its fresh citrus notes and savoury, mouth-watering character. Together with the Cuvée, it represents the estate's best value for money wine.
The dominance of Garnacha does not prevent Jon and Pedro from seeing the wood for the trees. But they have a cautionary message: "There are fewer and fewer good Garnacha vines in good sites."
