Viñedos La Madroñera

Name Winery: Viñedos La Madroñera

Address: Ctra. Requena-Albacete (N-322) KM 430, 250m left, Los Isidros

Telephone: 963 992 400

URL: www.constantia.es

Sponsor of Vino Valencia Wine Night at Tahine, January 20, 2010, with:
• Constantia Crianza 2006

This is a 600-hectare estate belonging to the García-Guzmán García family in Los Isidros de Requena, in which there are 52 hectares of vineyards, comprising Bobal, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.

Since 2003 the bodega has been producing its Constantia range of red wines: Constantia Joven (Bobal and Tempranillo), the unoaked Constantia Sine Robore (also Bobal and Tempranillo), and the oak-aged Constantia Crianza (Tempranillo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Bobal).

It is a female team behind these wines, in 2007 it was the only winery in Europe run entirely by women — a “bodega de mujeres” (a bodega of women) as their website puts it, and their slogan is “Vinos con carácter femenino” (wines with femininity).

There is a book that needs to be written on the important role of women in the world of Spanish wine. These wines certainly opt for subtlety and finesse over the sledgehammer tendency.

I first came across the wines and some of the members of the team at Valencia’s annual Mostra de Vins i Aliments Tradicionals of 2007, when the Constantia Crianza was awarded first prize in the “Vinos de Crianza” category. There is a buzz every year around their stand at this event in the old Turia riverbed, and the wines and the winery continue to go from strength to strength. In early 2010 the new visitors’ and social centre will open to the public.

We are delighted to be kicking of this significant year for the bodega with one of their wines.