Bodegas Pirineos Principio Moristel 2023

To give you some background on this wine, Bodegas Pirineos is a co-op winery in Somontano, nestled under the Pyrenees. Pirineos work in 23 tiny pueblos north and west of Barbastro, the DO?s main town, in both valley and hill-slope terroirs. Hilltop soils are pebbly, calcareous sandstone; on the slopes it's more sandy and as we travel down, we can find more ferrous clay coming through.

Moristel is a local variety which was nearly extinct until Bodegas Pirineos committed to saving it. In 1991, they grafted over their best vineyard (high, cold soils facing south-east) to Moristel. For 25 years this vineyard was protected in blends until they were mature vines and able to stand on their own feet as varietal wines.

Moristel is a thin-skinned, delicate grape, low-yielding with late budding and ripening periods. Since being replanted, there are now 40 hectares of Moristel in the area, averaging around 15 years in age. When it comes to single varietal Moristel however, this is probably the only one you will find!

Here 'Principio' means 'origin' or 'source', and here, it denotes a return to ones' roots by working with the local cultivar. 5000 bottles are produced from vines around 20yo grown in sandy loam, with sandstone and marl at 400-600m altitude. Rainful is 400m or less. High diurnal temperature range promotes polyphenol maturity while protecting natural acidity. 4 components commenced fermentation in stainless. Unwooded, unfined, unfiltered, minimal sulphur, 'just the naturally fermented grape, bottled'. This was fermented with natural yeast.