Finca Sandoval

Ángel and Germán García-Cordero

Cuenca, La Manchuela

Established in 1998 by journalist, wine critic and, by all means, wine nut, Víctor de la Serna, Finca Sandoval has always been a wine lover's wine project. Located in the mountainous region of Cuenca (central-eastern Spain), in a sub region known as Manchuela (no to be confused with the much bigger region of La Mancha). Most of the winery's vineyards are located above 700 metres above sea level and include grape varieties such as Albilla Manchega, Bobal, Touriga nacional, Monastrell, Moravia agria, Garnacha tinta and Syrah. Most plantings date back more than 80 years. 

In 2019 the winery was acquired by a group of friends that set their eyes on pairing back to produce less wines, but of top quality. Currently Finca Sandoval has five different wines in the market that are classified internally in a burgundy style scheme: from a village wine (La salia) to several parcel wines (Fundamentalista and Finca Sandoval) and La rosa, their top tier wine from a single vineyard of Bobal.  

The estate farms around 26 hectares of organically certified vineyards near Ledaña, at altitudes that give the grapes cool nights, fresh acidity and sharper contrasts. Everything begins by hand. Grapes are harvested into small crates; at the winery, each parcel is fermented separately in small open-top tanks. Extraction is handled gently, with regular punch-downs rather than aggressive pump-overs. The result —and style— are clearly recognisable in the bottle.