We at Bodegas Juan Carlos Sancha are pleased to offer you three high-quality artisan, organic wines:

• Ad Libitum Tempranillo Blanco
• Ad Libitum Maturana Tinta
• Peña El Gato, Garnacha

About our wines

Let us tell you a little more about our wines.

Ad Libitum Tempranillo Blanco
—from vines at 565 m. altitude

This was the very first wine we developed.  It comes from the Tempranillo Blanco grape; this grape is a mutation from a single (red) Tempranillo vine that was found in 1988 in an old vineyard located in Murillo de Río Leza, La Rioja.  Development of these grapevines was part of the Universidad de La Rioja minority varieties rescue project conducted by Professors Juan Carlos Sancha and Fernando Martínez de Toda.  The Consejo Regulador of Rioja accepted this variety as an official grape in D.O.Ca Rioja in 2007.  Our Tempranillo Blanco vineyard is ten years old.

The white Tempranillo Blanco grape is 97% genetically similar to its red Tempranillo cousin.  The leaves and grape cluster shape are identical; so also are their susceptibility to diseases and pests.  Both have short, early-ripening cycles which enable these grapes to be grown in any subzone of the Rioja Domination and to complete their ripening even in zones where later ripening takes place.  The Tempranillo Blanco vines have medium to high vigor and a medium yield (6,000 kg of grapes per hectare).  The grape clusters, while abundant, are of small size and medium weight.

Ad Libitum Maturana Tinta
—from vines at 565 m. altitude

While Maturana Tinta grapes were cultivated many years ago, this was done only on a limited scale. Maturana Tinta vines, discovered in an old vineyard in Navarrete, were also part of the Universidad de La Rioja rescue project. Our vineyard has been in production for ten years.

Our Maturana Tinta vines produce small clusters of grapes with high acidity and good resistance to vine diseases, all features typical of Maturana grapes. The deep-color grapes and great tannic structure of these grapes make premium red wines possible. Our Maturana Tinta vineyard produces 5,500 kg. of grapes per hectare.

Peña El Gato, Garnacha
—from vines at 650 m. altitude

This wine comes from 95-year-old Garnacha vines on high, south-facing slopes and terraces on a half hectare of land inherited by Juan Carlos Sancha from his grandfather.  This very special vineyard, which yields 2,857 kg of grapes per hectare, has a small production, 1200 bottles of wine.

Click on Trade for  Shelf Talkers and a Fact Sheet on the winery.