We were introduced to Aitor from A Pie de Tierra by Roberto Olivan from Tentenublo when in Madrid - already a promising start. Aitor and David are making some incredibly fine expressions of Garnacha from these old vine plots in Toledo and Aldea del Fresno - incredibly ethereal and pinoté styles, made very much in the image of Gredos Garnacha. The vines for their benchmark 'A Dos Manos' are 40-50 years old, sitting on David's family farm. The age of the vines, paired with the granite soils here, result in a delicate yet powerful expression of Garnacha.
Aitor and David work organically, and inspired by the esteemed wines of Commando G, where David did a stage before making his own wines, these are very exciting wines A very young project, with this only their second vintage, we cannot wait to see what comes next.
A Pie de Tierra is a very young project (2017) on the outskirts of Gredos, as they have vines in Méntrida (Toledo) and Aldea del Fresno (Madrid), none really in Gredos proper. But they work with Garnacha on granite soils in a style inspired by the Garnacha de Gredos wines. It's the personal project of Aitor Paúl, a sommelier the Lavinia wine shop in Madrid, and David Villamiel, who has roots and vineyards in Méntrida. They studied together and decided to make good use of Villamiel's 20 hectares of family vineyards in Méntrida. They also rent additional vineyards in Aldea del Fresno, the next village over but now in the province of Madrid. The wines have a more Mediterranean character than those from Gredos, given the temperatures and rain in their zone. They work organically and have started with biodynamics and ferment with indigenous yeasts with full clusters, long macerations and aging in large/neutral wood containers. They are somewhat inspired by Comando G, where Villamiel staged after finishing his studies. They produce 10,000 bottles Luis Gutierrez, www.robertparker.com (Apr 2020)
This was tasted after trawling through many a Gredos Garnacha when last in Madrid, and this little unassuming wine stole the show. The very charming Aitor and winemaker David are making ethereal styles of Garnacha from t...(read more)
L&S