Bodegas Arrayán

Founded in 1999 in Santa Cruz del Retamar, Toledo, the Bodegas Arrayán winery is the personal project of José María Entrecanales and María Marsans. Following the advice of the prestigious Australian viticulture expert Richard Smart, during its first years of activity Bodegas Arrayán produced mostly blended wines from international grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. In 2009, after being hired as chief oenologist, Ms. Maite Sánchez decided to take the company in a different direction, shifting the focus to local varieties and producing varietal wines from old vineyards with special characteristics.

The wines of Bodegas Arrayán are sourced from four geographical areas with different soils, exposures, heights and climatic conditions, located in two designations of origin in central Spain: DO Méntrida and DO Cebreros. Finca La Verdosa, where the project began, is situated in Santa Cruz de Retamar, Toledo. The old vineyards of Albillo Real, a local white variety, are grown near the small village of Almorox, also in Toledo. The Grenache vines are situated in world-famous Sierra de Gredos, near the villages of El Real de San Vicente, Toledo, and Cebreros, Ávila. The vineyards are farmed following environmentally sustainable techniques and using no chemicals or synthetic products.

The grapes are usually harvested by hand, carefully selected and spontaneously fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels. The malolactic fermentation is carried out in stainless steel tanks or barrels, depending on the wine. Then the wines are aged in oak barrels of different origins, sizes and cooperages. In all cases, the goal of the winemaking team is to capture and express each specific terroir in a faithful manner.

Nowadays, the wine catalogue of Bodegas Arrayán consists of wines made from both local and international varieties. The firsts are sourced from Grenache and Albillo Real vineyards located in Sierra de Gredos. Produced from Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, the international blends come from the Finca La Verdosa estate.

In the facilities of Bodegas Arrayán there is a collection of oak barrels which can contain up to 52,000 litres of wine. The overall storage capacity is 292,000 litres.

• Year of foundation: 1999
• Address: Finca La Verdosa s/n
• City: Santa Cruz de Retamar
  
• Province: Toledo
• Zip code: 45513
  
• Country: Spain
• Phone number: 34 916 633 131
  
• www.arrayan.es
• Guided visits? Yes
• Wine tourism services? No

Designation of origin:

Méntrida, Cebreros.

Red wine varieties:

Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot.

White wine varieties:

Albillo.