Cantayano

The extremely young 2024 Cantayano was bottled less than one month before I tasted it. This was produced with Verdejo grapes from different plots in the village of La Seca, mostly in the lieu-dit of San Martín (now mentioned on the label) searching for the varietal profile without makeup, showing the climate and soils. The juice from the full clusters was let to settle and fermented at 20 degrees Celsius in stainless steel tanks, and only 10% of the volume spent seven months in French oak barrels while the rest was in stainless steel. It's from a cooler year with good yields, and the wines are more agile, with less weight and alcohol. It comes in at 13% alcohol, with a pH of 3.23 and 5.4 grams of acidity. It's primary and has herbal aromas and notes of freshly cut grass and fennel, with some medicinal/balsamic undertones and a gentle palate with a tender finish. The wines seem to be gaining in character every year, denoting a project on its way up. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2025.

The 2021 Cantayano is their entry-level white from different vineyards in their village La Seca. The aim is to show the naked Verdejo grape with no makeup and showing the climate and soil. 2021 was one of the coldest years in recent times, but mildew decimated the crop, which resulted in an early harvest starting at the end of August. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured with the lees in tank for six to eight months. It was also a year of mildew and low yields, and the wine finished with 13.8% alcohol but has very good lemony freshness and acidity. All of the whites have full malolactic, which is a little unusual in the zone, but it's the result of working with low sulfur and doing a somewhat oxidative vinification. It's expressive, varietal (with textbook notes of freshly cut grass), faintly balsamic and clean, developing notes of aniseed with time in the glass. It has volume and ripe flavors—Verdejo can give powerful wines—with a gentle texture and a tasty finish. 28,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2022.