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Garcia de Lara La Cueva Colora Cencibel is a Spanish red wine from the province of Toledo. This wine is 100% Cencibel, another name for the Tempranillo grape variety, from the estate’s 5.47 hectare La Cueva Colora vineyard.
Finca Villalobillos, the home of Bodegas Garcia de Lara, was established in 1878. The estate has been in the García de Lara family since then and today covers some 284 hectares in the province of Toledo. The winery is located in the municipality of Villarrubia de Santiago.
In the 1920s, Alfonso de Lara Toledo built a new bodega with a capacity of 400,000 litres. Winemaking continued at the estate until the 1970s, when the grapes were sent to another winery in La Villa de Don Fadrique for winemaking. However, in 2017, Bodegas García de Lara was revived by the next generation of the Garcia de Lara family, who focus on the finca’s own potential, emphasising single-vineyard parcels of wines from its oldest plots.
The estate is particularly known for its old vines planted “pie franco”, ungrafted vines, planted on their own rootstock. The vines thrive here in the calcareous, rocky soils typical of the region. These special old vines, combined with dry-farmed (secano) cultivation, contribute to the unique character of the wines produced. There are four wines produced and bottled as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla. The red wines are this one, made from Cencibel (Tempranillo) and a Tinto de la Pampana Blanca (Tinto Velasco). The white wines are both made from Airen, also available from Fareham Wine Cellar.
The Cencibel grapes for Garcia de Lara La Cueva Colora Cencibel come from a La Cueva Colora vineyard situated at 768 meters. Unlike the other wines produced, this is made with grafted stock. The vineyard was planted in 1960 by the current owners’ father and uncle across two adjacent plots. American rootstocks (41B and 161–49 Couderc) were planted first, and later grafted in the field with plant material from distinctive local vines.
The vineyard is cultivated under dry-farming conditions (secano) on calcareous soil with a silty-loam texture. Recently, 4 hectares of Tinto Cencibel have been planted as bush vines and are also cultivated under dry-farming conditions. The name comes from the cave located in the plot and the reddish colour of the soil.
Garcia de Lara La Cueva Colora Cencibel pairs excellently with grilled red meats, game dishes, or aged cheeses like Manchego.
