Chronicle of a love at first sight, two sinuous glasses of wine and 50,000 euros at stake

Cadalso of the GlassesWe are in the Sierra de Gredos. We have seen the devastation of the fire while heading to the vineyard. This summer, this landscape has been razed by the flames. But also by the political apathy that has allowed this territory to be drained by the great city of Madrid. There are no farmers. The forests are not managed. And, of course, it is not the first time the land has burned. In 2019, another great fire affected the region. Quim Vila, co-owner of the wine distributor Vila Viniteca, has vines planted there. He and his partner Siscu Martí had the vision that there was something special in this land. "It was love at first sight," says Vila, who knew how to see a buried potential that would explode. And so it was. Now we will get there. But first, the flames.

Vila speaks about the 2019 fire. And he explains that there has been no help to remove the burnt trees, but at the same time, you are not allowed to touch it. Neither doing nor letting be done. The bureaucratic deadlock affects this land of smallholdings, plots divided among many relatives and inhabited by people who have become accustomed to living with little. In this context, nature prevails. Granitic soils, blessed by silt, by sand, by quartz, by altitude, by winds and rains, have meant that in just 10 years their wines have become objects of desire for connoisseurs. Who would have thought. Siscu Martí and Quim Vila must have seen something, because they partnered with the winery that acted as a lever for the whole region, Comando G. And the vines, in opposition to legislation, do stop the natural disasters that seem unstoppable: that of the combustion of the landscape and that of the plague of depopulation.

The 100 points that changed everything

What happened in 2016? The validation, of course, came from outside. It was the recognition of the 100 Parker points received by the Rumbo al Norte wine. A Garnacha from the Comando G winery. With them, the partners of Vila Viniteca began to vinify here. And for two years now they have been doing it with their own winery: El Hombre Bala, the same name as the village wine they produce, both white and red. We also find the references La Mujer Cañón, Reina de los Deseos, and Voladuras. The latter comes from a vineyard that had belonged to a man who worked in the quarry. You can imagine how he made space and moved the stones to let the tractor pass. The work of Vila and Martí has been much less explosive, but it has allowed the vineyard to express itself better. Thanks to the hand of the winery's technical director, the Lleida-born Ramon Esteve. Here everything is done with craftsmanship. The care of the vineyard, the manual harvest, the vinification with just the right intervention and with sense and by plots. A daily and vigilant work to let the wisdom of the old vines do the rest.

Since they have been there, other wineries have opened in the area. Also, companies related to agricultural management. Hardware stores are selling more. And yet, there is still room for companies linked to winemaking to appear, such as those that rent machinery. It is the awakening of a land that was undervalued for too many years.

We are in the middle of the vineyard from which the grapes that will make La Mujer Cañón come. We are accompanied by graphic illustrator Joan Josep Bertran, from Vilafranca. He has spent two decades dedicated to understanding wines in order to present them to the world. We may not know it, but Bertran, through his studio, JJ Bertran, and his designs, has sneaked into many of our homes. He has created labels such as that of El Sindicat de la Figuera, and even that of KH7. Today Bertran is here because in this vineyard flanked by large granite stones, just as they would have been left if Obelix had thrown them, he presents us with a poster: the one for the best-endowed prize in the wine world. It is about the 50,000 euros at stake in the pairs tasting. There will be 125 lucky ones. Last year, when it was held in Barcelona, the spots were filled in 2 minutes and 54 seconds. This year, which is celebrated at the Casino de Madrid, it will not be a very different time. The first placed pair will win 35,000 euros. The second 10,000 and the third 5,000. There are groups of people who train. Now they know that the date will be February 21st. The JJ Bertran poster lets them know, in which two sinuous glasses intertwine, play playfully, in motion, like the wine that swirls inside the container, or like the nerves of the participants who will have the privilege of participating in this 19th edition.