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Método Clásico is Manuel and Sara’s answer to a Cava. They ferment a dry cider in stainless steel with juice from the first harvest of apples. Then the juice of sweeter later harvest fruit is added to provoke a second fermentation. It is bottled before second fermentation and left to rest on the lees in bottle for 6 months. Disgorged in the spring.
As with all of their ciders there are no additions, just apple juice, fermented spontaneously.
In 1997, after moving from his hometown of Madrid to the Sierra Nevada National Park, 2000 metres above sea level, Manuel Moreno discovered an orchard of indigenous old apple varieties, well suited to the cold harsh temperatures of Spain’s highest peak. It was this, and with inspiration from his good friend Manolo Valenzuela (Barranco Oscuro) that he set out to make a Cava from apples. Not long after this he met his partner Sara Bertani and together their project of making sidra was born.
Working on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada is not without its challenges. The harsh Andalucian sun, the massive drop in temperature during summer and the brutally cold winter make for harsh working conditions, however this cold mountain climate as well as their bright, acidic indigenous apples is exactly that which maintains the freshness and almost ethereal acidity that is unique to their ciders.
The majority of their apples are grown within the borders of the national park where no machinery is permitted therefore all harvesting is done by hand, nocturnally (to avoid insects) and transported back to the cellar by horse. Once in bodega, all apples are scrupulously inspected before being pressed, any defects being removed so as to maintain as much purity and freshness as possible.