Antonio Vilchez Valenzuela does not rush. His wine Prisa Mata translates as "Haste Kills," and he releases it only when he judges it ready. From a tiny plot on the banks of the Alhama River in the Granada mountain village of Marchal, he makes a few thousand bottles a year that have become touchstones in Spain's natural wine movement — not through scale or marketing, but through the quiet conviction that good wine comes from the ground and requires nothing else.
Backstory
Naranjuez is Antonio Vilchez Valenzuela's personal project, centred on his family's vineyards in Marchal, a village near Guadix in Granada's northeastern highlands. The estate name references the orange trees (naranjos) historically associated with the Andalusian countryside. Antonio farms and makes wine entirely by hand, operating as what the wine world has come to call a garage winemaker — small production, high intensity of care.
The Region
Marchal sits at the edge of the Sierra Nevada, surrounded by three national parks, at an elevation of approximately 900 metres above sea level. The Alhama River runs nearby. The climate is dry and continental at altitude, with cold nights preserving acidity. The vineyards range between 900 and 1,600 metres, making Naranjuez one of the highest-elevation wine projects in Spain.
Vineyards and Farming
Antonio cultivates two hectares on clay-limestone soils without any chemical inputs, following organic farming cycles. Vines are tended entirely by hand. The range of varieties reflects both native Andalusian stock — Garnacha, Tempranillo — and international varieties planted historically in the area, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Pinot Noir. Annual production is approximately 8,000 bottles.
Winemaking
Antonio works completely without additions in the cellar. Fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts. Wines are not fined or filtered. No sulfur, enzymes, or corrective additions are used at any stage. The wines age in stainless steel tanks.
The Wines
The Prisa Mata red, a blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir, is the estate's signature, released only when Antonio considers it ready regardless of vintage calendar. Baco Perez is an orange wine made with extended skin contact. The Brutal bottling offers a more immediate expression from the high-altitude parcels. All wines are vino de la tierra with no appellation certification sought.
