Days, seasons and tasks

At Marañones we consider our commitment to the land to be paramount. It allows us to develop our wine authentically. This commitment translates into a respectful cultivation of our vineyards as well as a thorough care of their surroundings.
Above all we ensure that our grape is of the highest possible quality. This way it can convey the vineyard and its surroundings in the most genuine manner. This is our

fundamental understanding of viti-viniculture.
When making our wine we seek harmony between the characteristics of each terroir, the traditional care of each vine and the surrounding landscape. A respectful oenological intervention allows us to express what is most unique and of interest in each plot.

Marañones follows principles of biodynamic agriculture. It is based on the interdependence between all the elements that concern the vineyard. It means that we aim to understand the vineyard and treat it as an integrated ecosystem. We remain however aware of the difficulty of measuring objectively the success of biodynamic viticulture.

We consider that this way of approaching the crop is fully coherent with the vision and integral philosophy of Marañones Winery. In our experience, the health and vigor of the land is greater, and the evolution in the wines better reflects the character and the specificities of the vineyard.

We pay special attention to cosmological and natural rhythms. The lunar cycle helps us determine some tasks in the field and in the winery. We try to make the pruning, the composting, the bottling during the correct phases of the moon. There are tasks that we have been performing for about five years in all the plots where we produce Paraje or Parcela wines:
soil stimulation through the "500" and “501" preparations, fertilisation with organic compost and infusions with vegetable extracts and seeds.

We have always been concerned by the understanding of our soils. It is one of the elements that we look to convey in our wines. For instance, we strived to analyse the fundamental features of plantations that we carried out in 2013 and 2016. We trained our staff to implement all necessary measures to improve the 4 hectares of new vineyard.

SPRING

We direct our work efforts towards improving the vigor of our vineyard and strengthening the soil.

Green pruning
The main objective is to eliminate the secondary shoots so that the sap and the nutrients of the vine concentrate in the shoots selected during the winter pruning.

Soils
We revitalise the soil with a “500” manure preparation. We try to build the structure of the soil by regulating its pH. Some plots are worked with animal drawn ploughs.

Plant
A valerian infusion helps promote better flowering. Nettle avoids diseases. Yarrow reduces the level of sulfur and oxidation. They are all homeopathic treatments that we normally do in spring. We repeat some in autumn.

SUMMER

In the summer the plant has already formed its fruit and must achieve maturation. It is important to control the level of foliage of the plants and apply if necessary some yarrow infusion.

AUTUMN

After the harvest the vineyard is prepared for the annual agricultural cycle. We begin the soil stimulation work that will continue until spring.

Composting
The manure from the cows grazing in our meadows is in our opinion the best composting. It is essential for organic viticulture.
A silica preparation helps increase the vigor of the plant by amplifying the effects of sunlight. It reinforces the plants. At the same time it gives them flexibility, improving the nutritional quality.

WINTER

We continue with the work of soil stimulation, also realising other fundamental tasks.

Dry pruning
We start dry pruning once the vine is in a vegetative state and before it grows new shoots.

SowingWe sow in soils treated with the preparation 500 that allows the adequate development of legumes and the formation of knots. Knots are very suitable in sloping soils.

Albillo Real

Local type used as a table grape in the 19th century. Creeping with a short cycle. The wine has a distinctive scent reminiscent of white flowers. It stands out in the palate for the high content of glycerin that makes it very enveloping.

Garnacha

A traditional grape in the Sierra de Gredos. Adapted to grounds with high mineral content. It produces balanced and elegant wines revealed to the nose with hints of red fruit and an undergrowth landscape.

Moscatel de Grano Menudo

A local grape planted in small quantities next to the Albillo. Depending on the year, it allows a sweet or dry vinification. A type that flowers early but ripens late. Low performance.

Morate

Local grape, usually identified as Aragonesa or Morenillo. Its vegetative cycle is long, with irregular production. It grows bunches and large berries. The Morate vineyards are scattered around the estate.

The production of white wines

The production of white wines is based on a cold pre-fermentative skin maceration, using a soft pneumatic press. Natural “debourbage” (24h) and ageing with its fine lees in French oak barrels from 500 to 700 litres (l) of light and medium roast. We also use French oak casks of 1,200 to 5,000 litres.

The production of red wines

The red wines are mainly fermented with the whole bunch, in French oak tanks of 30, 45 and 115 hectolitres. Delicate macerations with “pigeage”. <br>Alcoholic fermentation is at low temperature. Both the alcoholic and the malolactic fermentations happen naturally in barrels by plots. It ages in French oak barrels from 500 to 700 l and in casks from 1,500 to 3,000 l.