CANTALAPIEDRA
Rueda

Manuel Cantalapiedra stands as the definitive vanguard of Verdejo, spearheading a movement that seeks to strip away the industrial veneer of the Rueda region to reveal the raw, stony soul of the Castilian high plateau. While the modern history of the area has been defined by high yields and the pursuit of "international" tropical profiles through selected yeasts and heavy filtration, the Cantalapiedra family operates with a diametrically opposed philosophy of non-intervention and deep agricultural respect. Descending from several generations of winegrowers in the legendary village of La Seca, the family’s viticultural foundation was laid in 1949 when patriarch Heliodoro planted his first majuelo at just fifteen years old. Today, under the direction of his grandson Manuel—a trained classical pianist who applies an exacting, artistic rigor to the cellar—the estate focuses on a precise, limited production of roughly 160,000 bottles, ensuring that every drop reflects the specific heritage of their land.

The family’s 21 hectares of Verdejo in La Seca, with vines ranging from ten to forty years of age, form the heart of the project, but Manuel has carefully expanded into a mosaic of rare, ancient plots. These include 1.5 hectares of pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1894 in Hornillos de Eresma, a small plot of eighty-year-old ungrafted vines, and another unique 0.4-hectare vineyard in Alcazarén. His search for terroir has also led to a hectare of ungrafted vines in Matapozuelos and 2.6 hectares of thirty and ninety-five-year-old vines in Toro. Furthermore, the family has integrated 2.5 hectares of Garnacha in Villanueva de Duero, specifically the La Otea plot, and a centenary Garnacha plot in Palacios Rubios. By farming organically without irrigation and utilizing wild yeasts with minimal sulfur, Manuel crafts singular expressions that range from the unfiltered Lirondo to the flor-aged La Vigilia and the high-altitude icons like Alto Las Cuestas and El Parvon.

The resilience of these old vines is best illustrated by how they navigated the extreme 2022 vintage. Despite a brutal summer with temperatures nearing 50°C and low rainfall, Manuel considers it a hallmark of quality; the extreme heat actually caused the plants to "block" and stop accumulating sugar, resulting in some of the lowest alcohol levels the estate has seen alongside a surprisingly productive harvest. Through this artisanal lens, the Cantalapiedras have proved that authentic Verdejo does not need the validation of a D.O. stamp to be considered among the greatest white wines of Spain.

Imported exclusively in Hong Kong and Macau by Souveraine Limited and in Mainland China by MUYI