This is a single-varietal Syrah wine that expresses the full potential of this grape variety, which is perfectly suited to the harsh conditions of the Méntrida region.
Made using Syrah grapes from the 35-year old trellised Syrah vines that the winery has in the municipality of Camarena, Malpaso is a powerful, well-structured wine that is medium to full-bodied with a long-lasting finish.
The sandy soil on which the vineyard lie at an altitude of 400 meters is ideal for the fruit to reach its peak ripeness.
The climate in the area—which is particularly dry with great variations in temperature between the summer and the winter, and twelve months’ aging in 500-litre French oak barrels combine to make Malpaso a round, elegant wine with a great personality.
The name Malpaso is a contraction of the Spanish words "mal paso", which come from the expression "dar un mal paso" which translate to stumble due to a misstep, just the oposite of what the wine represents.
Canopy was founded by Alfonso Chacón and Belarmino Fernández with the vision of creating organic, low-intervention wines that show nuance and character. Their wines have gained international praise for their purity and quality, as the famed Michel Bettane said in Shanghai, they represent the “renaissance of wines in Spain”.
Among the top wineries producing organic wines and recuperating ancestral Garnachas located at a high altitude in the beautiful "Sierra de Gredos” not far from Madrid.
The vision of these oenologists, interested in what the terroir and the grape represent, has placed their wines at the same level as the best low-intervention French wines, perfectly defined by the term “vin de garage”.
Their wines derive their authenticity straight from the land, by selecting the best vines, caring for them sustainably, clearly identifying each plot with only one or two barrels, and blending them in the bottle to create something out of this world.
Click here to read more about the winery on their website.
Ratings & Reviews
93 Points - Wine Advocate (Robert Parker)
Luis Gutiérrez (Robert Parker reviewer for Spain) notes about this wine:
Pure Syrah from vines in the area of Camarena, the 2017 Malpaso fermented with full clusters in open 1,500- and 5,000-litre oak vats and matured in barrels of different sizes, mainly 500-litre French oak for around one year.
It has an explosive nose with notes of black olives, smoked bacon, violets and an herbal twist.
It doesn't show the heat of the vintage and instead comes through as fresh, expressive and vibrant; it's medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and is very easy to drink.
It seems like the way they work—picking the grapes early to avoid too much ripeness, fermenting with stems in a non-extractive way and aging the wines in larger barrels to avoid notes of wood—works well with the variety.
21,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2018
