When we visited Barranco Oscuro back in the spring of 2013 and Manolo Valenzuela told us about a disciple of his making wines on the north side of Sierra Nevada, we didn’t hesitate for a second. If his wines were anything like Manolo’s, it was worth a trip. We jumped in our car and headed his way that same day. It was almost dark by then so time was of the essence. Instead of taking the longer road around the mountains, we decided to cut right through them…regardless of the rain. Let’s just say if I can avoid taking that road ever again, I will. We almost lost our lives that night but hey, today we get to introduce Ramón Saavedra of Bodega Cauzón.

Ramon’s family has always owned a small vineyard but would only make wine for consumption. It was a subsistence crop just like any other. He never imagined he could make a living out of viticulture so he pursued a career as a chef. He spent 15 years working in kitchens up and down the Costa Brava until he decided to return to his native Cortes y Graena in the Granada province of Andalucía, a small little town located in the middle of the desert…red rocks and sand as far as the eye can see. It’s actually quite an amazing sight. He took over his family’s small vineyard and planted another 4 hectares on alluvial soil deposited at the base of Sierra Nevada, all of which above 1000m of altitude. He even planted some ungrafted vines on the sandier parts free of phylloxera. The sun exposure combined with the altitude give his wines the best of both worlds, ripe fruit and structure kept in check by a nice backbone of acidity.  

Since planting in 1999, there’s been no need for chemicals in the vineyard. That said, he hasn’t really needed them in the cellar either. Ramón’s terruño speaks for itself so there’s not much “winemaking” on his part. Native yeast fermentations, no filtering or fining at any time and no additives of any kind, not even sulphur. Cauzón 2012 is Tempranillo aged in used French and Hungarian oak for about a year. After around 2016 this wine no longer sees oak, only stainless steel aging. Iradei 2013 comes from his ungrafted vines and is a blend Tempranillo, Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah aged in used French and Hungarian oak for about 7 months. Mozuelo 2014 is Garnacha and Cabronicus 2014 is a carbonic Tempranillo, both of which fermented in stainless steel with no oak treatment.