Las Moradas de San Martin

San Martín de Valdeiglesias · San Martín Subzone · D.O. Vinos de Madrid

“Our role is to preserve what the vineyard gives, not to impose a style.”

- Winemaking philosophy at Las Moradas de San Martín

Place & Heritage

Las Moradas de San Martín is located at the western edge of the D.O. Vinos de Madrid, where the region rises toward the Sierra de Gredos. Here, the landscape shifts decisively from the central plains to a mountainous environment dominated by granite, elevation, wind, and sharp light. Vineyards lie at high altitude, around 800 - 900 meters above sea level, surrounded by pine forests, exposed granite outcrops, and open mountain terrain.

Soils are composed primarily of decomposed granite, sandy and poor, with excellent drainage. These conditions naturally limit vigor and encourage deep root systems, shaping wines of restraint and tension. Nearby stands the Monasterio de Santa María la Real de Valdeiglesias, a 12th-century Cistercian monastery whose severe stone architecture and isolated setting form part of the cultural and historical landscape of the area. The setting reinforces the character of this zone: quiet, demanding, and uncompromising.

Origins & Ownership

Las Moradas de San Martín is part of the Alma Carraovejas group. The project was conceived with a clear objective: to recover and interpret historic Garnacha vineyards grown on granite soils in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, a patrimony long present in the area but historically undervalued.

The estate was designed as a focused, terroir-driven project. Vineyard identity leads every decision, with the cellar serving as a tool for interpretation rather than transformation.

Vineyards, Land & Grapes

The estate is built around a collection of old Garnacha vineyards, many planted more than 50 years ago. Vines are bush-trained (vaso), dry-farmed, and naturally low-yielding. Parcels are worked and vinified separately to preserve their individual character.

These conditions produce wines defined by line, freshness, and mineral clarity rather than weight or power.

Key characteristics include:

Decomposed granite and sandy granite soils

High elevation around 800 - 900 meters

Old bush vines with deep root systems

Continental climate with strong mountain influence

Significant day–night temperature variation

Primary grape variety - Garnacha

Winemaking Philosophy

Winemaking at Las Moradas is guided by restraint and transparency. Extraction is gentle, maceration times are adapted parcel by parcel, and aging decisions are made to support structure without masking origin. Aging takes place mainly in French oak barrels of varying sizes, selected to preserve balance and freshness.

The guiding principle is subtraction rather than construction, allowing vineyard character to remain legible in the glass.

Wines

Across the range, the wines share a common language of precision, restraint, and persistence.

Wines

Senda

A clear and accessible expression of Garnacha, focused on red fruit, freshness, and granite-driven minerality

Initio

Old-vine Garnacha with greater depth, structure, and aging potential

La Maliciosa

A more serious, site-specific wine shaped by altitude, exposure, and soil

Visiting the Winery

Visits to Las Moradas de San Martín are by appointment and centered on vineyard context. Tastings are designed to connect wine directly to landscape, focusing on understanding granite soils, altitude, and old vines rather than theatrical presentation.

Las Moradas de San Martín plays a key role in defining the western identity of Madrid wine. It demonstrates that the region can produce refined, terroir-driven Garnacha of international relevance by embracing altitude, granite soils, and old vineyards. It represents the most contemplative face of Madrid Wine Country—disciplined, mineral, and deeply rooted in place.

Nearby places

Bernabeleva

Where old-vine Garnacha, granite soils, and altitude reshaped Madrid’s wine identity.

Tierra Calma

Where vineyard, cellar, and enotourism merge into an immersive experience rooted in place and ecological viticulture.

San Martín de Valdeiglesias

San Martín de Valdeiglesias feels like a threshold between worlds, where Madrid’s interior gives way to something wilder, more elemental, and unexpectedly expansive.

Why It Matters

Bodega Andrés Díaz matters because it’s a living bridge between Navalcarnero’s wine past and Madrid’s new-generation quality push. It combines:

deep local continuity (family succession, long grower ties),
real vineyard scale (56 ha reported), and
a clear stylistic mission rooted in the tastes and memories of Madrid - while still modernizing under the D.O. umbrella.