Manu Sanmiguel
Manu Sanmiguel was born in Valencia in 1997 and discovered wine through the hospitality trade, helping his father in the family business. He studied oenology in Requena and trained at Forjas del Salnés (Rías Baixas). Since 2021 he has worked at Casa Los Frailes, in Terres dels Alforins, the landscape he has made his own. In 2023 he began his own project: intervening just enough and letting the vine speak.
Fontanars dels Alforins, the highest-altitude subzone of the D.O. Valencia. Soils of white marl and calcareous sandstone, with Mediterranean-continental influence and significant night-time coolness.
- Minimal intervention in vineyard and winery
- Main variety: Monastrell · Progressive addition: Forcallà, Arcos, Bonicaire
- Fermentation with native yeasts, maceration with skins
- Ageing in 500–700 L barrels and 54 L demijohns
- Bottled unfined, light filtration at 3 microns, minimal sulphites
- L'Altet de Torró — Red Wine, 100% Monastrell, single plot, 900 bottles
- Satio — Red Wine, 100% Monastrell, four plots, 1,700 bottles
The Terres dels Alforins is the highest-altitude wine subzone of the D.O. Valencia, shared with Celler del Roure, Fil·loxera & Cia, Rafa Cambra and Los Pinos, among others. Manu Sanmiguel intends to progressively incorporate Forcallà, Arcos and Bonicaire, convinced that the future of the territory lies in understanding and recovering its identity.
The collection at Terroir Radical
Single-plot Monastrell from Fontanars dels Alforins, hand-harvested on 25 September 2024. 48-hour pre-fermentation cold maceration, fermentation with native yeasts and 10% whole cluster. Fifteen days of maceration. Aged in one used 500 L barrel and four 54 L demijohns for 12 months. A project shared with Javi Revert and Rafa Cambra: one same origin, three different interpretations.
Deep red colour with purple nuances. Expressive, Mediterranean nose of black fruit, plums, damp earth and minerals. Medium-bodied palate, friendly tannins and good acidity —the altitude of L'Altet gives it a freshness that breaks with the clichés of the variety. Notable persistence. Very limited edition: 1,300 bottles. Plot shared with Javi Revert and Manu Sanmiguel.
Four Monastrell plots: two in Fontanars dels Alforins, one on the L'Altet de Torró estate and one in Los Frailes. Harvested separately and made in the same way. Fermentation with native yeasts and ten days of maceration on the skins. Aged in 700 L and 500 L barrels for 14 months. Bottled unfined, with light filtration at 3 microns. Manu Sanmiguel's first wine: an interpretation of the Terres dels Alforins landscape.
Nose with ripe fruit and Mediterranean notes, accompanied by mineral nuances. On the palate it is balanced, with good structure, elegant tannins and a persistent finish.
Editorial note
Manu Sanmiguel represents exactly the profile we look for at TR: a young grower who has learned the territory from within, with technical rigour and a clear philosophy. His work at Casa Los Frailes and the project of his own he has built in Fontanars dels Alforins —in the heart of the Terres dels Alforins, within the D.O. Valencia— speak of someone who does not make wine for the sake of it, but to understand. Minimal-intervention Monastrell, no additives, on land of marly soils and white clays. His natural wines prove it.
— Terroir Radical