If there is an autochthonous varietal that stands out in the surroundings of San Martín de Valdeiglesias and Madrid, it is undoubtedly the albillo real. Already in the Golden Age, the white wines of San Martín de Valdeiglesias were appreciated by almost all the great writers of our land: from Lope de Vega to Jorge Manrique, Tirso de Molina, Jorge Manrique or Cervantes himself, who found these wines among his favorites, together with those of Ribadavia and Ciudad Real.

Such was the fame of these wines in those times that they were taken for aging to nearby Ávila thanks to its favorable weather conditions; a fact that ended up coining a famous quote that said: “wine from San Martín locked up in Ávila is worth more than a florín”.

The albillo real cycle

The albillo real variety has a short and fast-growing cycle, which means that we can find budbreak at the end of March, as has happened in 2023 thanks to the temperatures of this unusual spring. Around May 8 we were already in full bloom and the berries set around May 20.

Although it is still too early to tell, and following the dates of the cycle of this peculiar variety, we can make an estimated projection of the possible harvest dates for the end of July. In fact, during the past year 2022, on August 4, we were already picking the first bunches of Albillo Real to elaborate our references of this native variety that has been the queen variety of Madrid for centuries.