# Pampaneo Ancestral (2024)

- **Producer:** Esencia Rural
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** sparkling
- **Grapes:** Airén
- **Region:** Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 11.5%
- **Average price:** €15
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now
- **Serving temperature:** 6–8 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** lemon, apple, pear, blossom, bread, biscuit

## About this wine

Esencia Rural, located in Quero within the province of Toledo, is led by vigneron Julián Ruiz Villanueva, a pioneer of natural winemaking in Castilla-La Mancha. Originally an organic vegetable grower, Julián turned to non-interventional viticulture to preserve the regional agricultural tradition and native grape varieties. Pampaneo Ancestral champions old, un-irrigated Airén bush vines planted in sandy-calcareous soils, redefining a grape historically reserved for bulk production into a characterful, high-energy sparkling wine.

## Interesting facts

- Crafted from old, ungrafted (pie franco) Airén bush vines in central Spain.
- Bottled undisgorged with zero added sulfites, resulting in a naturally cloudy, sparkling wine.
- Vigneron Julián Ruiz Villanueva was an organic vegetable grower before pioneering natural wine in La Mancha.

## Food pairing

The vibrant natural acidity and lively effervescence cut cleanly through salty, fried, or rich foods, while keeping the palate refreshed during tapas-style dining.

## Wine making process

Hand-harvested grapes undergo brief skin maceration before spontaneous fermentation with wild indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Following the Méthode Ancestral (Pét-Nat), the unpressed virgin juice is bottled before fermentation finishes to naturally trap carbon dioxide. The wine remains undisgorged and unfiltered, aging on its fine lees without added sulfites or fining agents.