Bodegas Buezo is announced as “the story of passion for the terroir, authenticity and character, and it is also the dream come true of Abel Buezo, who deeply loves his land and has been linked to the agricultural world since his childhood.” . They add that “Buezo is Burgos, and it is also the discovery of a region, that of Arlanza, an area whose hidden vineyards are at the same time its watchword, and a very well-kept secret that has been hidden for centuries on the banks of the Arlanza River.”
In 1999 they recovered a land with an extensive winemaking tradition, which began in the 10th century and which, 500 years later, according to history, would produce the wine that Columbus took to the Americas. They studied their soils and climate, and proceeded to plant the grape varieties ideal for this environment. The result of all this has been “to obtain an unbeatable base to be able to obtain excellent grapes, in each and every one of the varieties planted.” It is one of the most notable efforts in the area to recover the splendor of the vineyard after the proliferation of cereal crops that have been more profitable to date.
At Buezo they say they cannot conceive of any other way of doing things “other than approaching perfection, searching for unique wines that reveal our own identity and personality, extracting and expressing each vintage in the best way and, always, based on the needs, trends and preferences of our clients.” With this objective they combine tradition and innovation in all work and production processes, from the land to the delivery of the product to its customers. Buezo’s main values, they say, are “effort, generosity, transparency and communication.” The result, they say, “is a unique wine.” In fact, it is the largest winery, and the best technologically equipped, in the DO Arlanza. Its slogan is “the wine that is written with a b”.
The vineyards and winery are located in the Valdeazadón area, in the Burgos municipality of Mahamud (with only 107 registered inhabitants). They are located in an Atlantic area with a strong continental influence due to extreme temperatures and closely linked to altitude (the highest vines are up to 900 meters), factors that mark a great thermal amplitude and positively affect the character of the fruits and wines obtained. The Valdeazadón farm has an area of ??61 hectares, of which 57 are dedicated to plantations and 4 to the winery and other facilities.
In itself, it is a hill, dividing the farm into two parts; one facing south and one facing north; In this way, air currents are favored and, consequently, the risk of frost in spring and diseases in spring and summer is largely avoided. The plantation, depending on the sectors into which it is divided, maintains different types of terrain, predominantly clay, calcareous and sandy. The vineyards were planted on trellises, seeking the sun’s rays, with wooden ends and metal intermediates. His height is 1.60 meters. The planting frame is 3 by 1 meter, resulting in a density of 3,330 plants per hectare.
His farm has 55 hectares, of which 48.7 hectares are vineyards. They are experimentally producing white wine (they have Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Viognier varieties). But they have not yet decided to put it on the market. The harvest is manual, with the first selection of the grapes being carried out in the vineyard itself, where only the clusters that reach optimal quality levels are cut, and placed in 16-kilogram perforated plastic boxes.
After harvesting, the grapes are immediately transported to the winery, to avoid possible pre-fermentation. The maximum yield that they establish per hectare for their vineyard, in order to achieve the optimal qualities of their final products, is for the red varieties, approximately 3,500 kilograms per hectare, although the DO Arlanza, Rioja and Ribera del Duero allow up to 7,000 kilograms per hectare.
They affirm that their wines are made in an artisanal way, with hardly any filtrations (except those obtained naturally by decanting, through production by gravity). It is transferred by gravity. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in truncated conical stainless steel tanks, with controlled temperature and two daily pumping overs. Malolactic fermentation is carried out in French oak vats, also with controlled temperature. The aging takes place in new fine-grained, medium-toasted French oak barrels.
On land “of sober beauty” stands the building that “represents the flavor of this land.” The winery, which began construction in 2003 and opened in 2008, has a sober and minimalist design reminiscent of a z that divides it into two areas: production and aging. From this firm they assure that it is “with an avant-garde and calm design at the same time, and it combines with the landscape in a perfect fusion.” It is the work of the architect Mariano Cobo. They are facilities conceived from experience, with a practical and functional sense: on one side the aging area, on the other the final production area.
They say that they are spaces designed to guarantee hygiene, facilitate maneuverability and allow linear traceability that encourages the rest of the wine to preserve the flavor, compared to the mobility required in other wineries. Inside they have a crane bridge to allow gravity transfers, which are at the base of the winery’s philosophy. They work with large OVI tanks. And between the stone walls they have truncated conical stainless steel or wooden tanks, air-conditioned rooms, humidity control, cold rooms “and a whole set of technological means to guarantee the preservation of the most natural flavor.”
Buezo 1928 is their latest great novelty. It was presented this week in Madrid and next week in Barcelona. It takes its name from the year of birth of Bernardo, the father of the owner and founder, Abel Buezo. 1928 was also the year of the discovery of penicillin at St. Mary’s Hospital in London by Alexander Fleming. Its label is presided over by a drawing of Abel’s father made with a Bic pen. The pen strokes represent the furrows carved in the vineyards.
It is a mixture of red and white varieties co-planted in glass about 90 years ago in two small hawthorns, located on calcareous soils with granite areas. They include Albillo Mayor, Viura, Mencía, Garnacha Tinta, Tempranillo (Aragonese Tinta) and some unknown vines that have not yet been identified that are added to the Buezo 1928. It is aged for 24 months in new barrels, all of it made of fine-grained French oak with a capacity of 350 liters and untoasted, and up to 90 months of aging in a Burgundy bottle.
Buezo 1928 from 2009 has a high layer and the color of cherry cherries. With ocher trim. It exhibits a lot of licorice (reminiscent of Juanola pills, which clarify the voice) and ripe red and black fruit (blueberries and liquorous cherries) with a patina of vanilla and cedar as a result of aging. There are no shortage of empyreumatic notes (coffee), and it is also spicy (pepper) and balsamic. It has an elegant finish, which leaves a refreshing minty sensation. Body, breadth and a certain minerality, with exceptional acidity that makes it very sharp. Tasty and with packaging. Still very alive and with great complexity. It shines more in the mouth than in the nose. It promises great aging potential. It is a wine of classic conception, with 14.5º of alcohol well integrated, but updated. It is a red that comes from old, but that appears very current.
The commercial director of Bodegas Buezo, Miguel Corral, says he really likes this wine “because it represents the vineyard where it was born.” He adds that “he talks about old vines, and their rusticity is perfectly reflected in him.” They recommend serving it at a temperature between 14 and 16º C. And they also point out that it is advisable to decant it beforehand. It may present possible precipitation of coloring matter over time, since it is filtered very gently. The owner of this Arlanza project, Abel Buezo, likes to accompany this wine with a taco of Iberian cheeks. His winemaker, Fernando López Arce, would pair it with a dish from the winery’s restaurant: Delicias de poro, smoked cheese cream and its crunch.
They have an exhibition hall, a terrace and a restaurant with its own garden that has capacity for 312 guests, a tasting menu and even a children’s menu. They have also opened up to wine tourism. Last year they received 1,500 visitors. The facilities are prepared for people with physical disabilities and children “are welcome, but always under the strict supervision and responsibility of their families.”
