Garmón Continental is announced as the García family’s commitment to sustainable viticulture, “with clones that are not very vigorous and balanced maturation cycles, which allows for the production of a refined, fresh wine with contained maturation.” The 2014 vintage was the first of Garmón, the only wine produced in the new winery of the same name, built on a three-hectare plot in Pago de la Barca, facing the Duero River as it passes through Quintanilla de Onésimo and Olivares de Duero. , in the heart of the Ribera del Duero.
To speak of Mariano García, the patriarch, is to speak of an entire institution in the DO Ribera del Duero. Mariano García was born in Valbuena de Duero in 1944. He began in the arts of oenology in the mid-sixties. In 1968 he produced his first vintage in Vega Sicilia, and until 1998 he developed his work as technical director of this firm.
Garmón Continental is also defined as “an exciting and exclusive totally family project based on the vineyard”. Both the name of the winery and the wine already say it all: it is the acronym of the family surnames García-Montaña. The brothers Eduardo (technical and commercial management) and Alberto (general management and communication) are the ones who direct the reins of this wine project that is committed to quality. Despite this, at 79 years old, Mariano García “is still very active, although without taking care of the day to day.” Alberto García says that he is his “father and teacher”. And he adds that he “is intelligent and generous, and gives us our space.” Continental was added to the name of the Garmón winery to emphasize the harsh climate of this riverside area: with cold winters and hot summers, and with an outstanding thermal amplitude (cool nights in contrast to the day).
Garmón comes from a selection of vineyards, planted between 40 and 80 years ago, cultivated in small smallholdings in Baños de Valdearados, Tubilla del Lago and Anguix, on the right bank of the river; and Moradillo de Roa, on the left side. This backbone is joined by the fruit of the most recently planted vineyards of vines located on gentle slopes facing south in Valbuena de Duero and Olivares de Duero. They add about 20 own hectares, and another 15 controlled. The altitude of its vineyards ranges between 750 and 1,000 meters above sea level. His soils are predominantly clayey-calcareous and gravelly, which “gives nerve, depth and a controlled maturity, as well as freshness.” Garmón Continentales is committed to sustainable viticulture that recovers microbial activity in the soil, with pruning that is respectful of sap circuits and the use of clones of not very vigorous vines and balanced ripening cycles. Yields are between 3,500 and 4,000 kilos per hectare. This next harvest will add up to ten harvests.
The winery, located on the road to Ribera de Olivares de Duero, occupies a space of 2,000 square meters, divided into different modular buildings around a large central patio. It is located in the geographical area of ??Páramos de Esgueva, in the heart of the Golden Mile of the DO Ribera del Duero. A beautiful Renaissance bridge connects Olivares with the neighboring municipality of Quintanilla de Onésimo, at the only point of union of the two banks of the Duero River between Tudela and Peñafiel.
The cellar is accessed through a sunny windbreak in the form of a glass drawer, with the fermentation area occupying the heart of the cellar. This fermentation area has a capacity for the production of 80,000 kilos of grapes in 8,000-kilo stainless steel tanks, with transfer of the grapes by gravity to start fermentation, which develops spontaneously with native yeast. The average aging period is 18 months, with 100% in French oak barrels from different cooperages, with 27-millimeter-thick staves and naturally dried for a period of 24 to 36 months.
The 2020 vintage was marked by a cool cycle, with outstanding water availability. Autumn was rainy and mild, and winter began with fog and cold. February changed that dynamic, with temperatures warmer than usual for this month. In April it rained almost every day, with few dry windows, which slightly delayed sprouting. Spring continued to be warm and the plant, which had water available, had excellent fruit set and a lively development of the shoots and canopy (the green complexion of the plant). Harvest began on September 14 and, after a pause of several days due to rain, ended on October 1. In the elaboration of Garmón, between 12 and 16 days of fermentation and maceration with indigenous yeast are used, practicing daily pump-overs at temperatures of up to 28º C. Aging takes place for 20 months in French oak barrels. It was bottled the last week of August 2022.
Garmón 2020 has a high robe and the color of picota cherries. Even her tears are slightly tinted. It shows notes of cedar, vanilla, licorice, spices, aromatic garrigue herbs and fresh and juicy red and black fruits in a lactic bed. With present tannins, but not hard, and still young. Remarkable is its freshness. Alberto García remarks that “it is easy to obtain concentration, but we are obsessed with freshness”. In fact, they do not practice long macerations. This vintage is longer than it is wide, with more depth than breadth. The good acidity lifts it up in the mouth, gives it tension. The oak aging and alcohol (14.5º) are well integrated. Rather than decant it, the winery recommends jarring it. Alberto García Montaña likes to harmonize it with a grilled Iberian pork with thyme, to connect with its balsamic character. He also likes to pair it with some spicy snails with chorizo, or with a battered ear. The Garmón Continental winemaker, Pedro Antón, likes to accompany this wine with some chops in vine shoots or a good lamb.
They make around 50,000 75 cl bottles a year. and 1,141 of a liter and a half. The 2020 vintage was launched on the market on April 1. Its exports account for around 60% of production, with a presence in more than 50 countries around the world. Switzerland, the United States and Germany are its main international strongholds. Catalonia, where they have a dozen distributors, and Madrid are their main national markets.
Looking to the future, in the long term, they are studying the possibility of making a white with the Albillo Mayor variety and also a parcel wine protected by the DO Ribera del Duero. Albero García affirms that “I have learned that before growing with more wines, it is necessary to make a brand, doing it better and better and marking personality”. The family group also has Bodegas Mauro de Tudela de Duero (Wine from the Land of Castilla y León), San Román Bodegas y Viñedos (DO Toro) and projects in Rioja Alavesa (Baños de Ebro) and its Mauro Godello in the bierzo. In total they add up to 700,000 bottles per year. Since 1999 they have also been linked as partners of the prestigious Bodegas Aalto, in the DO Ribera del Duero.
