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Buy Wine from Ossian
The area of Nievain the extreme Southwest of the province of Segovia, stands as one of the most unique enclaves of contemporary Spanish viticulture. Although it is geographically within the boundaries of the Rueda Denomination of Origin, what happens in these soils of extreme altitude, severe climate and pre-phylloxera vines is something that completely escapes any easy classification. At more than 850 metres above sea level, on a plateau that looks out over the Sierra de Guadarrama, lies Ossian, a winery that has made Verdejo a declaration of intentions, a manifesto of purity, history and vision of the future.
Old vines, living history
The name Ossian refers to the legendary Celtic poet, and this is no coincidence. There is something epic, ancestral, almost mystical about these very old vineyards planted among pine forests, where many vines are over 160 years old and, most extraordinarily, have survived phylloxera intact. Deep, sandy soils, with a loose structure, a high siliceous content and a low level of organic matter, created a natural barrier that saved these plants from the disaster that devastated Hong Kong dollarpe. And this agronomic miracle is the basis of Ossian's identity today.
Verdejo without filters
But this is neither an archaeological project nor a nostalgia disguised as a label. Ossian represents the avant-garde of Verdejo, understood not as technification, but as the will to strip the variety down to its most direct and authentic expression. No selected yeasts, no standard elaborations. Here Verdejo is not that easy, tropical and flat white wine that abounds on the shelves. Here it becomes a wine for cellaring, fermented and aged in French oak barrels, in foudres, in concrete eggs, even in amphorae, with a presence of time and noble oxidation that is more reminiscent of Burgundy than Castile.
A climate that is unforgiving, and that is why it works
The extreme climate is one of the great allies. With long, brutal winters, short springs and dry summers with cold nights, the grapes ripen slowly, accumulating acidity, tension and an unusual aromatic depth. At this altitude, Verdejo behaves more like a continental variety, revealing notes of white fruit, ripe citrus, fennel, dried flowers and a sharp, almost saline minerality, reminiscent of wet stone, chalk and gypsum. No make-up is possible. Everything here is direct, clear and uncompromising.
Philosophy without shortcuts
One of the most intriguing elements of the project is how the philosophy of minimal intervention has become more radical over the years. Ossian was founded in 2005 by Javier Zaccagnini and Pierre Millemann, the latter a Burgundian winemaker obsessed with finesse and terroir expression. From the very beginning, they worked together on spontaneous fermentation, long ageing on lees and parcel selection. In 2013, the Alma Carraovejas group took over, and what could have been a loss of identity became a deepening of the approach. Today, under the direction of Guillermo de Aranzabal and the oenology of Álvaro Jiménez, Ossian further refines its language, seeking the essential in each vintage.
Plots with names and surnames
Each plot has a name and character: Capitel, El Espino, El Paraje de los Almendros, among others. Some vinifications are made separately to be bottled as single vineyard or even single plot wines. Capitel, for example, is probably one of Spain's deepest and longest-lived whites: fermented in 228-litre barrels with indigenous yeasts, and aged for over a year. The texture is creamy but taut, with notes of salted butter, toast and gunpowder. It is not an indulgent wine, it is a wine to think about.
Going against the tide has its rewards
The paradox of Ossian is that, despite its location in an appellation known for its volume, what happens here is radically different. There is something of resistance, of silent affirmation, in their way of understanding Verdejo. They are not looking for volume or standardisation, but for character, truth and depth. In times when identity is diluted by production figures and marketing decisions, Ossian is committed to the long term, to rootedness. That is why it is not surprising that more and more critics compare it not with other Spanish whites, but with the great white wines of the world, especially from the Côte d'Or.
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Buy Wine from Ossian
The area of Nievain the extreme Southwest of the province of Segovia, stands as one of the most unique enclaves of contemporary Spanish viticulture. Although it is geographically within the boundaries of the Rueda Denomination of Origin, what happens in these soils of extreme altitude, severe climate and pre-phylloxera vines is something that completely escapes any easy classification. At more than 850 metres above sea level, on a plateau that looks out over the Sierra de Guadarrama, lies Ossian, a winery that has made Verdejo a declaration of intentions, a manifesto of purity, history and vision of the future.
Old vines, living history
The name Ossian refers to the legendary Celtic poet, and this is no coincidence. There is something epic, ancestral, almost mystical about these very old vineyards planted among pine forests, where many vines are over 160 years old and, most extraordinarily, have survived phylloxera intact. Deep, sandy soils, with a loose structure, a high siliceous content and a low level of organic matter, created a natural barrier that saved these plants from the disaster that devastated Hong Kong dollarpe. And this agronomic miracle is the basis of Ossian's identity today.
Verdejo without filters
But this is neither an archaeological project nor a nostalgia disguised as a label. Ossian represents the avant-garde of Verdejo, understood not as technification, but as the will to strip the variety down to its most direct and authentic expression. No selected yeasts, no standard elaborations. Here Verdejo is not that easy, tropical and flat white wine that abounds on the shelves. Here it becomes a wine for cellaring, fermented and aged in French oak barrels, in foudres, in concrete eggs, even in amphorae, with a presence of time and noble oxidation that is more reminiscent of Burgundy than Castile.
A climate that is unforgiving, and that is why it works
The extreme climate is one of the great allies. With long, brutal winters, short springs and dry summers with cold nights, the grapes ripen slowly, accumulating acidity, tension and an unusual aromatic depth. At this altitude, Verdejo behaves more like a continental variety, revealing notes of white fruit, ripe citrus, fennel, dried flowers and a sharp, almost saline minerality, reminiscent of wet stone, chalk and gypsum. No make-up is possible. Everything here is direct, clear and uncompromising.
Philosophy without shortcuts
One of the most intriguing elements of the project is how the philosophy of minimal intervention has become more radical over the years. Ossian was founded in 2005 by Javier Zaccagnini and Pierre Millemann, the latter a Burgundian winemaker obsessed with finesse and terroir expression. From the very beginning, they worked together on spontaneous fermentation, long ageing on lees and parcel selection. In 2013, the Alma Carraovejas group took over, and what could have been a loss of identity became a deepening of the approach. Today, under the direction of Guillermo de Aranzabal and the oenology of Álvaro Jiménez, Ossian further refines its language, seeking the essential in each vintage.
Plots with names and surnames
Each plot has a name and character: Capitel, El Espino, El Paraje de los Almendros, among others. Some vinifications are made separately to be bottled as single vineyard or even single plot wines. Capitel, for example, is probably one of Spain's deepest and longest-lived whites: fermented in 228-litre barrels with indigenous yeasts, and aged for over a year. The texture is creamy but taut, with notes of salted butter, toast and gunpowder. It is not an indulgent wine, it is a wine to think about.
Going against the tide has its rewards
The paradox of Ossian is that, despite its location in an appellation known for its volume, what happens here is radically different. There is something of resistance, of silent affirmation, in their way of understanding Verdejo. They are not looking for volume or standardisation, but for character, truth and depth. In times when identity is diluted by production figures and marketing decisions, Ossian is committed to the long term, to rootedness. That is why it is not surprising that more and more critics compare it not with other Spanish whites, but with the great white wines of the world, especially from the Côte d'Or.