Manin
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MANIN y sus Muchachos began in 2018 as a viticultural and wine project built around the heritage of very old Garnacha plots where you can still sense the vibe of the generations of vignerons who shaped them, who lived their lives in them. They are now producing wines of very limited production with a goal of purity, personality and precision.

Founded by Angela Zozaya and Sancho Rodríguez, centered in the ¨Sonsierra Navarra” on the border between Navarra and Rioja, with their basecamp in El Busto, Angela´s mother’s village. They organically work 4.5 hectares of vineyards – 17 plots in 8 villages and 3 valleys – from 400 to nearly 700 meters elevation. They've been quietly and patiently working in this region, meeting the old vignerons, gaining their trust, breathing in the landscape. 

They steward an incredible heritage of vines, aged from 70 to over 100 years, the last vestiges of a historic viticultural region that has unfortunately been in decline since the 1960s. The main variety here is Garnacha, but many of the plots are co-planted with native grapes Graciano, Miguel de Arco (aka Moristel or Tempranillo Temprano), Chasselas, Viura and other more obscure varieties. They also work with a few exceptional vignerons for some cuvée de négoce bottlings as their own vines have very low yields and uneven harvests depending on the vintages.

Between 2018 and 2021 the focus was on giving health back to these soils, understanding the area, crafting very artisanal wines, with Sancho handling all the work in the vineyard and winery with some help. In 2022 they moved into their new winery, thus allowing a larger workspace to explore how they can further represent this historic winegrowing region. Yet, like any artisanal agricultural project, they consider themselves a work in progress…and in all likelihood always will be. 

The Wines


Clarete Negro V is 100% Garnacha from an east/northeast-facing 1ha parcel of 35 year-old, dry-farmed organic bush vines on clay/limestone soils at 510m elevation. The grapes are hand-harvested and whole-cluster fermented and raised in concrete tanks in an infusion style for gentle extraction. This vineyard is owned by the Ollo family (Bodegas Aristu) and a collaboration with José Mari Labairu. 

Clarete Negro VI is 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha from a certified organic and biodynamically farmed 1ha parcel of 35 year-old, dry-farmed bush vines on clay/limestone soils at over 600m elevation in the village of Labraza. The grapes are hand-harvested and partially destemmed and partially direct-pressed to ferment and age on lees in concrete tanks in an infusion style for gentle extraction. This vineyard stands in a lieu-dit between Rioja and Navarra and is owned by the García family of Hacienda Agrícola Hontza. 

Perdidas en el Mariñanas is 70% Garnacha along with Graciano, Miguel de Arco, Chasselas, Malvasía, Viura, Granegro and other obscure varieties from 5 organically farmed (recuperated) parcels of 70-100+ year-old, dry-farmed bush vines on a variety of soils and elevations in 4 different villages. The grapes are hand-harvested and whole-cluster fermented in concrete tanks in an infusion style for gentle extraction, then aged in a 1000L Italian botti for several months. 

Location

General Info

  • Founded: 2018
  • Region: Navarra
  • Town: El Busto
  • Climate: Mediterranean-continental
  • Soils: Clay/limestone
  • Farming: Organic
  • Grower: Sancho Rodriguez and Angela Zozaya

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