Carlos Moro has unveiled Viña Garugele, the highest quality Riojan wine to carry the name. The launch event took place this noon on the terrace of the Casino de Madrid in front of various different national and specialised media outlets.
The name Garugele comes from the exact place where this wine was developed, a vineyard planted in the year 1940, and was personally selected by Carlos Moro to create an excellent Tempranillo red wine. It all starts at the vineyard where a manual harvest into boxes takes place before two levels of grading occur, first in clusters and then one by one.
The vineyard sits to the north of the river Ebro, only a few hectares from the northwest end of the Rioja Alta where the vineyards are found at a higher altitude, around 500m above sea level. The west-facing orientation of Garugele avoids excessive ripening of the grapes and guarantees freshness in this particular tempranillo which is reminiscent of other varieties like the Mencía, producing more grapes with a fresher profile with hints of fine fruits like blackcurrant, blackberry and myrtle.
The smaller area of the vineyard is 1.65 hectares and has a low output, resulting in a limited production of just 6,658 bottles. The production aims to conserve and emphasise the distinctive characteristics of the vineyard. The fermentation is brought about using native yeasts to respect tradition and the highland soil itself. The barrel aging in French (80%) and American (20%) oak imparts smooth roasted notes which accompany the fruity characteristics of the Tempranillo grape.
The exceedingly elegant and characterful Moro Viña Garugele 2015, possesses a vibrant and intense colour with fine dark fruit aromas and pronounced siliceous minerality arising from the soil of Garugele. It has fine, long tannins with lots of freshness. Thanks to the exclusivity and characteristics of the vineyard and the grapes which grow in it, the finished wine has a certain peculiarity and unmatched personality. Including Viña Garugele there are now five wines made by Bodega Carlos Moro, belonging to Bodegas Familiares Matarromera, in the Rioja region. Alongside Viña Garugele there are CM, CM Presitigio, Oinoz Crianza and Oinoz by Claude Gros.
The Carlos Moro Wineries and Vineyards. The personal gamble of the winemaker and viticulturalist.
Carlos Moro founded Matarromera in 1988, but his passion for the land and wine came to him through the long winegrowing tradition of his ancestors. In 2014 his gamble paid off when he was awarded the prestigious Rioja Qualified Denomination of Origin, resulting in the creation of “Bodegas y Viñedos Carlos Moro”.
In 2015, Bodega Carlos Moro celebrated its first harvest, from which it gathered more than 400,000 kg, and in 2016 it opened its doors to wine tourism, offering different experiences to tourists that wish to get closer to this area of great prestige and its rich winegrowing tradition. During their stay, visitors can roam the impressive 300m long, 1,200 square metre underground cave, as well as the different levels using the panoramic lift from which they can see the whole wine production process.
Currently Bodega Carlos Moro has more than 20 hectares of vineyards distributed across 23 plots of land located in San Vicente de la Sonsierra in La Rioja and Labastida in Álava, and 75 monitored hectares in these places and Ábalos, a municipality attached to San Vicente de Sonsierra.
