Born in Madrid, Carlos Sánchez studied at the Escuela de la Vid and began his professional career at the Méntrida cooperative in Toledo (Castilla-La Mancha), at a time when Garnacha reds from Gredos were beginning to take off. In fact, it was in this area, in the village of Cadalso de los Vidrios, that he produced his first wines under the brand Las Bacantes. These include an extremely limited production white Albillo Real (around €24 in Spain) and an old-vine red Garnacha (€19), sold with the DO Vinos de Madrid seal.
Sánchez is also a big fan of Rioja. His fascination with the landscape of the Sierra de Cantabria mountains led him to buy a house in Cuzcurrita del Río Tirón in 2008, where he used to spend the summers with his family, and where he finally settled in 2018.
This has allowed him to take better care of 3 Viñerones, the small project he started in the region in 2015 with Javier García (4 Monos) and Nacho Jiménez (La Tintorería wine shop), in search of the fresh, crisp fruit flavours that can be achieved by harvesting the grapes relatively early. Two wines are produced here: Sedal, a cuvée from three plots in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, (7,800 bottles, €19) and the spicy La Esquirla del Bardallo (€35), from a Tempranillo vineyard planted in 1982 in the Bardallo area, also in San Vicente.
He launched his own Rioja project with the 2019 vintage. He currently owns one hectare in the La Salud site in Labastida, at 500 metres elevation, from which he plans to produce a red and a white under the Veravier brand (the result of mixing the names of his sons Vera and Javier); and a plot of just under 0.2 hectares in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, on the road to Rivas de Tereso. Planted to Tempranillo, it is like a little balcony on limestone soil and the source, from the 2019 vintage, of the firm red La Bendecida (just a few hundred bottles, €95), which Sánchez considers his best red to lay down.
For the rest of the range, he relies on local growers. His preference is for limestone soils in medium and high elevation areas above the road along the Sierra de Cantabria. The only exception is the entry-level Bienlarmé Lágrimas Bellas (2,500 bottles, €20, a blend of Tempranillo and 8% Garnacha), which has a greater proportion of clay soils to obtain softer and more accessible tannins. This is a spicy, herbal red with plenty of red fruit, medium-bodied and pleasant aromatic complexity. The name is a wordplay, combining a Spanish idiom with the French term "larme", meaning tear (lágrima in Spanish).
The 2020 vintage saw the release of Buradón Las Plegarias in white (€25) and red (€40). The grapes come from two vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Around 1,700 bottles are made of each wine. The citrusy, zesty white is 100% Viura from a "cabezada", the upper part of a traditional plot, where the poorer soils are better suited to white grapes. The red is an elegant, refined Garnacha from La Rad, a site that, according to Sánchez, is not the freshest in the village but has great balance.
The range concludes with Los Montes Bellos del Buradón (€40, 1,300 bottles). First released in the 2021 vintage, it aims to be the equivalent of a Premier Cru. The grapes, bought from a local grower, come from the El Saúco site in Labastida. It is a blend of 70% Tempranillo and 30% white grapes, which provide acidity. The packaging is inspired by a 1962 bottle by legendary Burgundy producer Henri Jayer. Under the same Premier Cru concept, a limited production white wine (only 500 bottles) is in the pipeline. Expected to retail at €100, it will be the most expensive wine in the project.
During fermentation, which takes place in stainless steel tanks or oak barrels, varying amounts of stems are usually added. Large oak casks are preferred for ageing. The French-inspired labels feature a rooster as a symbol of faith and light - the designer who worked on them associated these elements with Carlos's personality. Although production is very limited for the time being, the ultimate goal is to reach 25,000 to 35,000 bottles for the entire range.
Together with Javier García, Sánchez also works as a winemaking consultant for Finca Élez in Albacete. He is also launching a new project in La Rioja with the Canadells, a Catalan family who emigrated to France after the Spanish Civil War and became involved in the timber industry, first as suppliers of staves and then as founders of their own cooperage. For the time being, they have acquired around 10 hectares in San Vicente and Labastida, as well as a winery in Labastida. Carlos Sánchez is also a member of Martes of Wine, a group of enthusiastic, terroir-driven Rioja producers.