About 4 Monos GR10 Vinos de Madrid
4 Monos GR10 Vinos de Madrid is a lively, fresh, and focused expression of the granitic soils and high-elevation of the Sierra de Gredos.
About 4 Monos
4 Monos (4 Monkeys) is a team of four friends and lovers of wine native to this region. As is typical of The New Spain, this “gang of four” assembled in a less conventional manner. They met while hiking in the Gredos mountains, one of the most profound wine terroirs to emerge in recent years. The Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range that spreads over parts of three appellations. – Méntrida, Vinos de Madrid, and Castilla y León – and sits between 600 and 1200 meters in elevation. Old bush vines planted on sand, granite, and schist abound. They intermingle with olive, evergreen, almond, and chestnut trees. Also, scrub brush, chamomile, and wildflowers. This is a landscape that feels like a holy collision between the Mediterranean and the Alpine. The region is often deemed magical for its beauty and immense diversity.
About the Vineyards
It is this terroir that 4 Monos champions with organic farming. 4 Monos is the team of winemakers Javier García and Laura García, wine-lover David Velasco, and vineyard holder David Moreno. 2010 was their first vintage as a team. Over ten years they have acquired 5 hectares of their own vineyard parcels. Plus a small bodega with built-in concrete tanks in Cadalso de Los Vidrios. They are also working another 5ha with local organic growers. 4 Monos focuses on the land and the variances in terroir from village to village. They have brought the potential of the Gredos terroir to the world’s attention. They also revived production from grapes such as Morenillo and Cariñena.
About the Winemaking
Minimalism reigns supreme in their cellar. For the white wines, 4 Monos harvests for acidity. The wines are barrel-ferments and raised in neutral French oak. They produce two whites. One is a regional blanco from old-vine Albillo with Viura and Moscatel. The other is a 95-year-old Albillo sourced from three vineyards in Cadalso de Los Vidrios. For the reds, they pick Garnacha, Cariñena, and Morenillo as soon as they achieve initial ripeness. They then vinify using whole grape clusters. A gentle extraction occurs, then aging in neutral oak of varying sizes.
A variety of reds are in the lineup. A regional tinto from multiple villages in the Gredos that is affordable. A lithe and complex wine from the high elevation village of Cenicientos. Plus, two single-vineyard wines that fall under the “La Danza del Viento” label. One is the structured and mineral-laden “Molino Quemado” from San Martín de Valdeiglesias. The other, the perfumed and elegant “La Isilla” from Cadalso de Los Vidrios. Additionally, 4 Monos is the only Gredos producer to put the Cariñena grape on center stage. This is with a precise, elegant, and delicious single-vineyard wine called “Car.” Depending on the vintage, they may make some unsulfured cuvees for good measure. The results are astonishingly electric and like no other wines in the world.
