El Yesal
Garnacha… for great occasions (preferably weekly!)

A project to rehabilitate centenary vines of Garnacha near Tirapu, a town belonging to the Valdizarbe sub-zone within the DO Navarra. The plot exposed to strong winds is located on a steep hillside in the region of Yesal, which gives the wine its name: “where we find gypsum”. The soil is relatively unique in the region: very white, rich in magnesium and limestone. It is a poor and arid soil which retains moisture and stays relatively cool. It is a plot with a wonderful East orientation, but it requires a lot of work because it is cultivated without herbicides and without tilling the soil, while weed control is done with a brush cutter. Only sulfur and copper treatments allow phytosanitary control. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Manual harvest in 16 kg crates. Approximate yield of 2500 kg. Vinified without additives, fermentation with indigenous yeasts and bacteria, a pure wine without makeup as is the trademark of Luis Moya. Aging: 7 months aging in used Navarre and French oak barrels. Not clarified. Unfiltered. Minimum dose of sulfur when bottling to allow the wine to be preserved. Bottled, labeled and sealed by hand. Around 1,500 bottles produced for the 2018 vintage bottled in January 2020.

Reviews

Vintage 2020

•  The single-vineyard 2020 El Yesal was produced with Garnacha from a centenary plot of vines on limestone-rich soils (“yeso” means gypsum in
  the Spanish language, and “yesal” is a place where you have yeso) in the village of Tirapu in Navarra. 2020 was a warm year, and on top of COVID-
  19, there was a lot of mildew and a very warm summer, so the ripening was fast and the harvest early. It fermented in stainless steel with
  indigenous yeasts, went through malolactic in barrel and matured in a 500-liter oak barrel and some demijohns for 10 months. It’s ripe at 15%
  alcohol but as a very low pH, so the overall sensation is not warm at all and instead comes through as balanced and harmonious. The nose is
  complex and has notes of plums and a meaty touch, a little à la Northern Rhône, with a juicy palate and very fine tannins. It is delicious and has
  depth, complexity, clout and elegance. Superb for the difficult vintage. Only 850 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2022. Drink 2023-2029.
  94+ pts — Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate (Apr. 13, 2023)

Vintage 2018

• The elegant and powerful 2018 El Yesal feels very complete, with a chalky texture and the minerality from the limestone-rich soils. It comes from a centenary Garnacha vineyard that delivered a superb wine in 2018, a wine that combines ripeness and full flavors at 15% alcohol with balance and subtleness. It has very fine tannins and a great mouthfeel, finishing dry and very tasty with an almost salty touch. 1,500 bottles were filled in October 2020.
  94 pts — Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate (Nov. 2020)

Vintage 2017

• The red Garnacha 2017 El Yesal was produced with grapes from an ancient plot of vines on limestone-rich soils (“yeso” means gypsum in the Spanish language, and “yesal” is a place where you have yeso). It’s from 0.5 hectares on a slope, and the grapes fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in 300- and 500-liter oak barrels (one of each) for seven months, but they always keep the wine for two winters in the winery. It has a very characteristic nose that I sometimes find in Garnacha from very warm years, with a mixture of soy sauce and malted cereals with a peaty/smoky twist reminiscent of some malt whiskey. It’s heady, aromatic and showy, floral and a little decadent. The palate reveals fine-grained, chalky tannins and very tasty flavors, with an almost salty finish.
  Only 1,100 bottles were filled in January 2019.
  92 pts — Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate #248 (Apr. 2020)