“Four aspiring wine Knights and some bloody old vineyards,” is how Zar Brooks describes Cien y Pico. This exciting new producer is based in Manchuela, a small region in southeastern Spain. The name means ‘Hundred and something’, and refers to the age of the ancient Garnacha Tintorera vines from which the wines are made.

The project is the result of many years of experience in the region, and the personal quest of four winemakers (Australian Zar Brooks, his Bulgarian wife Elena Golakova Brooks, Spaniard Luis Juminez Garcia and Italian Nicola Tucci) to protect and preserve the 19th century vineyards they found in Manchuela. The 100yr++ old bush vines give excellent colour, fruit concentration and flavour to the wine, as yields are very low, around 3 tonnes per hectare. For many growers, harvesting this small a crop is uneconomical, and the attraction of EU subsidies in exchange for uprooting the old vineyards, has proved far too tempting to the detriment of the ‘gold’ in this region. When Zar & his team first tasted the wines and visited the region, they agreed: something needed to be done. Cien y Pico was born.

They have four vineyards, all located on the Meseta (or ‘plateau’) of Castila-La-Mancha. With only 300 mm of rain per year, the plateau is extremely dry; the deep-rooted, gnarled old vines thrive in the low vigour but limestone rich soils. The mountains surrounding the Meseta offer protection from the icy winters, while in summer the intense sun at this altitude of nearly 1000 metres warms and ripens the grapes to perfection.

The wine is made predominantly from Garnacha Tintorera, with a little Bobal and Syrah thrown in. The name ‘Doble Pasta’ refers to the Spanish expression for a particularly dark-coloured, juicy style of wine. This version is full of blueberries, damsons and cherries, with a hint of lavender and fresh tea. The four winemakers modestly refer to the wine as ‘fresh-picked fruit off the vine during harvest with just a little winemaking’. In this case, 20% only was aged in new oak barrels for 19 months.

Extraordinary and almost impenetrable deep hued purple, with youthful violet on the edges. A fantastic range of blueberries, damson plums and cherries on the nose. Also there are intriguing smells of fresh tea and lavender. Intense, fresh but powerful, pure blueberry and strong red fruits on the palate with chocolate, cinnamon and black pepper. The wine shows a lovely velvety texture that lingers on the finish with tremendous focus.

On its first showing at the 2010 International Wine Challenge, the wine has won a gold medal.
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Press for Cien Y Pico Tintorera Doble Pasta 2007 Castila-La-Mancha

93 points - "Bright and bursting full of cherry sauce, red fruits, potpourri, liquorice and earth. It's ruggedly, but handsomely tannic, with a little black tea bitterness but has genuine quality and drinkability stamped all over it. Length is excellent, as is the satisfaction. Lovely wine. Tasted it first and ended up smashing through it later - a good sign." Drink: 2010-2017
Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, June 2010

92+++ points - "Conspiradors Zar Brooks, Elena Golokova, Nicola Tuccia and Luis Juminez Garcia produces this explosive black wine from hundred-and-something-year-old Alicante bouschet bush vines in La Mancha."
Philip White, The Independent Weekly (Aus), 28 May - 3 June 2010

94/100 - "This is a lovely round and spicy smelling grenache: deep, juicy punnets of forest berries, some florals too, and gentle white pepper. Soft and supple in the mouth, sweet-sharp raspberry pip fruited and gentle spice again. Crisp tannins, a lingering finish, and delicious mouth-watering cut: shows how 'fine' old-vine grenache can be."
Tim White, The Australian Financial Review, April 2010
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Harvested September 2007
Oak Treatment: 20% in new Radoux 225L barrique for 19 months
Alc/Vol 14.1%
Total Acid 5.3g/L
pH 3.65