Las Pizarras – Garnacha Meets Slate in the Heights of Calatayud

Las Pizarras – Garnacha Meets Slate in the Heights of Calatayud.

Last summer we were invited by VINVIN Wines to join them for a tasting of the wines of Las Pizarras at Entrenous in Amsterdam. Las Pizarras is a relatively new project situated in the heights of Spain’s Calatayud. The wines were presented by Lorena Baquedano, a Calatayud native and export manager of Las Pizarras, who guided us through both the region and the distinctive old-vine Garnacha wines from this unique place.

Calatawhat?

Calatayud, located in the province of Aragón, is one of Spain’s largest and oldest wine regions, home to over 5.000 hectares of vines and with grapevines planted since Roman times. Its signature grape is Garnacha, which due to its drought resistance is a natural match to the arid, rocky soils of Calatayud. Still, here it is principally planted in bush vines to help alleviate the dry conditions of the region. The soils themselves consist mainly of limestone and slate, with the limestone helping to retain a bit of moisture, and the slate being said to give an elegant and more linear profile to the wines in addition to a subtle smoky note. It is this slate that gives the name to Las Pizarras – ‘pizarra’ being the Spanish word for slate.

Topographically, Calatayud sits on a high plateau, characterized by gentle south-facing slopes of the Sierra de la Virgen Mountain range at 500 to 1.000 metres of altitude. It is precisely this altitude that results in a high diurnal range, boosting the acidity of the grapes and helping them retain their elegant aromatic profile. As the plantings are dominated by Garnacha, this extra jolt of freshness is much welcomed by the growers to balance the natural weight and ripeness of the variety. A cold northern wind called the Cierzo further moderates temperatures and leads to slower ripening, again helping the wines to retain their elegance and fruit. 

However, this quality potential has not always been fully realized. The region used to have a reputation for churning out bulk wines made by co-operatives who preferred quantity above quality. Luckily recent focus in the region has been to move away from this model to focus on quality instead, with the best producers also promoting the natural treasure of the region: its countless old Garnacha vines. The local Consejo Regulador has even set quality criteria according to the age of the Garnacha vines, with those made from vines over 50 years old being given the classification ‘Calatayud Superior’. Winemaking in the region is also evolving from its traditional heavy, extracted wines to a more fruit-forward and elegant profile of Garnacha, thanks in part to investments in stainless steel equipment and improved temperature control.

Las Pizarras

Las Pizarras is a perfect example of this more modern take on Calatayud. The story of Las Pizarras starts with Belgian entrepreneur Mark Schiettekat. As Garnacha has always held a special place in his heart, in 2020 he decided to take over the co-operative of the village of Maluenda and transform it into Bodegas Raíces Ibéricas– of which Las Pizarras is one label. Other labels include Equilibrio, focusing on Jumilla; Pasíon, on Utiel-Requena, and Raíces, which focusses expressing Spain’s native grapes in varietal form, all planted in their regions of origin. Such ambition is admirable, unsurprisingly also resulting in Mark being nominated as Belgian wine person of the year in 2023. 

But back to Las Pizarras. The philosophy of Las Pizarras is to showcase both the terroir of Calatayud, but also the differences in terroirs within villages and even within the region’s single vineyards. To this end, they embraced a classification for their wines comparable to that of Burgundy. Fabla 506 is their regional, entry-level wine; Viña Alarba, Acered, and Castejón their village wines; and the Las Lomas their single-vineyard ‘premier cru’. To achieve the best versions of these terroir expressions almost exclusively old Garnacha bush vines are used, with winemaker Carlos Ruben favoring gentle extraction and a restrained use of oak. While the different profiles of the wines were remarkable, finesse and elegance were traits they all shared – precisely in line with the philosophy of Las Pizarras.

 The Wines on the Tasting Table

Below our impression, including ratings, of the wines we tasted during our encounter with Las Pizarras.

2023 Las Pizarras Fabla 506 

The regional wine of Las Pizarras, with a small dash (20%) of Syrah added to the Garnacha. Fabla refers to the local language used in northern Aragón, while ‘506’ is number of the tank that contained the blend chosen to make this wine. Largely unoaked. Ripe red cherry, strawberry, blueberry, smoke, black pepper; lovely freshness and introduction to the style of Las Pizarras, elegant and fresh, with the Syrah giving a light peppery kick.

DWA Score 89/100 | Drink 2025–27

2021 Las Pizarras Viña Acared

One of the three village wines of Las Pizarras. 100% Garnacha from the village of Acared, situated over 800 metres above sea level on the classical slate soils of Calatayud. Blueberry, plum, red cherry, smoke, wet stone, white pepper, violet, balsamic, clove; rounder and slightly denser than the Fabla, with a bit more ripeness and depth. Lovely complexity and great gastronomic potential.

DWA Score 91/100 | Drink 2025–28

2021 Las Pizarras Viña Alarba

Pure Garnacha from the village of Alarba situated 10 kilometers south of Maluenda, at an altitude of 850 metres above sea level. The higher altitude gives more elegance, but also more extreme weather. 60-year-old vines. Fresh strawberry, red cherry, raspberry, rose petal, wet stone, clove, vanilla; polished, pure, and energetic. Slightly closed on the nose at this stage of its life, but with intensity and freshness on the palate. Fine-grained tannins. Some similarities with Priorat here.

DWA Score 91/100 | Drink 2025–31

2023 Las Pizarras Viña Castejón

The first vintage of the Castejón village wine, the home village of Lorena with just 25 inhabitants. Characterized by a touch of limestone in the soil, with an altitude of over 1.000 metres. Raspberry, ripe red fruit, violet, plum, smoke, wet stone, earth, vanilla, clove; bit closed at this stage of its life but with great potential, more extract but also refinement and balance, needs a bit of time to integrate the oak. 

DWA Score 92/100 | Drink 2027–35

2021 Las Pizarras Las Lomas

The single-vineyard ‘premier cru’ of Las Pizarras, located in the village of Maluenda. Las Lomas is a small 2.56ha plot at roughly 750 metres altitude that has had a historical tradition of producing very high-quality wine. 40-year-old vines. Ripe red cherry, wild strawberry, fresh plum, violet, chalk, clove, vanilla; intensely aromatic, structured, dense, classic, needs a bit of time to open up. Beautifully mineral, with superbly fine-grained tannins.

DWA Score 93/100 | Drink 2027–37

Conclusion

The motto of Las Pizarras is ‘character is no coincidence,’ and it resonates in every bottle they produce. Las Pizarras isn’t merely riding the wave of fresher and more fruit-forward Garnacha wines; it’s setting a new standard in the region by committing itself to its self-imposed classification. This dedication to precision, place, and principle is highly commendable, reminding us that the unique character found in both Calatayud and the wines of Las Pizarras is indeed no coincidence.

This article was written by our own Martin Bronkhorst. The wines of Las Pizarras are exported to a number of foreign markets and well distributed. In the Netherlands their wines can be purchased through VINVIN Wines. We would like to thank VINVIN Wines for the invitation to the tasting, and Lorena Baquedano of Las Pizarras for presenting the wines of the estate.