Verum Las Tinadas Airén de Pie Franco 2022

From Las Tinadas, a single vineyard outside Tomelloso in Castilla-La Mancha, planted to Airén in 1950 on its own ungrafted roots — the pie franco system that phylloxera made rare almost everywhere else in Europe.

The site sits at 720 metres on stony, boulder-strewn ground: loose limestone soils running three metres deep, shot through with granite, iron and quartz. Rainfall barely reaches 250mm a year. The vines are low bush-trained, dry-farmed, certified organic, and picked by hand so only the best clusters go in. Around 7,000 bottles were made in 2022.

Elías López Montero ferments with two native yeast strains isolated from this vineyard, then ages the wine on its fine lees in 4,500-litre clay tinajas before bottling. Clarification is natural, so a little sediment or haze over time is normal and harmless.

Tasting note. Pale lemon-yellow with golden and greenish glints. The nose is complex and distinctly mineral — restrained citrus, a caramelised edge, fine lees, and a backdrop of infusion herbs with a subtle balsamic lift. The palate has real volume, fresh and lightly saline, with an acidity that carries through into a long aftertaste of minerals, herbal tea and a hint of lemon caramel.

At the table. Its clarity and mineral character make it a natural for Mediterranean cooking: chilled salmorejo or ajoblanco, goat cheese salad with raisins, smoked fish, Cantabrian anchovies, tuna mojama, and just about any fish or shellfish. Serve cold, 6–8°C.

Critical reception. Luis Gutiérrez awarded the 2022 90+ points in The Wine Advocate, noting its smoky, yeasty character and the freshness it holds despite a warm, dry growing season. Tim Atkin MW reviewed the vintage in June 2024 with a drinking window through 2027. James Suckling has praised the wine’s consistency and its unusual, mineral expression of Airén. Wine-Searcher’s aggregate critic score for the 2022 is 91/100.

IGP Vino de la Tierra de Castilla. Certified organic. Suitable for vegans.