# Esencias (NV)

- **Producer:** Bodegas Pico Cuadro
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Tempranillo
- **Region:** Castilla y León, Spain
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.5%
- **Average price:** €20
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–18 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, blackcurrant, plum, black pepper, cedar, chocolate, coffee, vanilla, prune

## About this wine

Esencias is a collaborative wine project born in autumn 2014 from the friendship between Diego Alvarez Gorosito, Oscar Garrote, and Swedish sommelier Håkan Nilsson. Partnering with winemaker Felipe Castrillo of Bodegas Pico Cuadro, the team set out to craft a modern, high-altitude Tempranillo that highlights the unique old-vine character of Ribera del Duero's famed Golden Mile. Sourced from high-elevation vineyards between 820 and 890 meters above sea level, including the historic Pago de Valdecarbonero plot, the wine showcases the balance and intensity offered by Castilla y León's extreme continental climate.

## Interesting facts

- Vineyards sit at high altitudes up to 890 meters, helping preserve fresh acidity during warm summer days.
- Created through a cross-cultural collaboration between Spanish winemakers and a Swedish sommelier.
- Fermented in large open 5,500-liter oak vats rather than standard stainless steel tanks.

## Food pairing

The structured tannins, pronounced fruit intensity, and crisp acidity of this Tempranillo complement rich red meats and savory game. The fat and proteins in meat soften the firm tannin structure, while oak-derived notes of coffee, cocoa, and cedar harmonize with roasted garlic, charred surfaces, and wood-roasted flavors.

## Wine making process

Grapes are hand-harvested into small 10 kg crates to preserve fruit integrity, followed by strict cluster selection at the vineyard and sorting table. Whole berries are transferred into 5,500-liter open oak vats for fermentation. Extended skin contact is utilized for gentle extraction of color and phenolic structure. The wine undergoes maturation for 8 to 12 months in oak barrels, comprising 80 percent French oak and 20 percent American medium-toast oak.