The history of the bodega goes back three generations; Emilio Moro was born in the heart of the Pesquera wine-growing area and grew up treading grapes and racking wine in his native village of Pesquera de Duero, in the province of Valladolid. As early as 14 years old, Emilio helped his father sell 100 large earthenware pitchers of wine to local clients.

This was a different era, when the grapes were crushed by treading in a large stone trough in the family wine cellar. The skins were pressed using a large wooden beam, the wine was made in casks and sold to seasonal farm labourers who came to work the fields or was taken by cart to other local villages. From this same cellar, wine was sold in quarter-litre jugs to local customers, who would pay by dropping a coin through a groove in the table into a box below, which was kept locked by the father, the only person with the key.

Rating

"The 2005 Malleolus de Sancho Martin is a single vineyard wine encompassing less than 2 acres. Malolactic fermentation occurred in new French oak with lees stirring followed by 22 months in new French barriques. The wine offers a seductive perfume of wood smoke, cedar, saddle leather, spice box, floral notes, blueberry, and blackberry. Round, rich, and full-flavored, on the palate the wine is opulent and multidimensional. Give it 8-10 years of cellaring and drink this super lengthy effort through 2040."-Jay Miller Wine Advocate 98 Points