El Grial

El cuento del Grial. Chrétien de Troyes (c.1150-c.1183)

1. Persavaus. Atressi con Persavaus. Rigaud de Berbezilh 
2. Blancaflor. Danse & estampie. Manuscrit du Roi (Inst.)
3. La guerra.  Ahi!, Amours. Conon de Béthune
4. Tristán. Lamento di Tristano. London Ms.(Inst.)

El Rey Arturo y la gran historia del Grial. Robert de Boron (c.1190-1210)

5. Perceval. D’Amors (Lamento de Perceval). Chrétien de Troyes
6. Merlín. Harley. London Manuscript (Inst.)
7. La Cuarta cruzada. Seigneurs, sachiez qui. Thibault de Champagne
8. Palestina. Palästinalied. Walther von der Vogelweide Wolfram von Eschenbach (1170-1220)

De Perceval a Parzival

 9. San Miguel el Alto. Cantiga de Toledo. CSM 212/12 (Inst.)
10. Tristan e Isolda. Ich lobe ein wip. Der Tanhuser
11. Lapis exilis. Meie, din liechter schin. Neidhart von Reuental

El significado del Grial. Hélinand de Froidmont (c.1160-1230)

12. Lanzarote y Ginebra. Estampie Royal. Le Manuscrit du Roi (Inst.)
13. La búsqueda del Santo Grial. Diu maget trurec. Wolfram von Eschenbach
14. La muerte de Arturo. Chanterai por mon coraige. Guiot de Dijon
15. Pantocrátor. Dregz de natura. Matfré Ermengau (Inst.) 
16. Chronicon. Karitas habundat. Hildegard von Bingen

Virtut apurar no’m fretura sola. La Corona de Aragón (c.1123-1458)

17. Lilzáhira. Los set gotxs recomptarem. Llibre Vermell 
18. Tirant lo Blanch. Ung lanceman a tout. Montecasino (Inst.)
19. El Siti Perillós. Sola vos (Contrafacta). Cancionero de Estúñiga

Behind every great wine lies intuition,longing, enthusiasm and a search. The search is sometimes an arduous and difficult path to follow. Itis testing, littered with traps and challenges just like the path followed by mediaeval knights in search ofthe Grail which was nothing less than a yearning toattain absolute perfection.

The Utiel-Requena appellation of origin,from the region where the grape variety Bobal reigns supreme (it is represented in almost 80% of all vines grown in the appellation), also reserves a place for non-native varieties which are generally used in small amounts to give greater complexity to the wine.The most common of these varieties is Tempranillowhich occupies approximately 12% of the vineyards,the remaining space being given over to Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine created by Bodegas Vereda Real, our companion on the Grail adventure, has been made with two of these varieties: Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon. These two well-travelled varieties can now be found in almost every appellation of origin across the five continents. Chrétien de Troyes gave the Grail legendto literature around the end of the 12th century and a short time afterwards The Book of Alexander, written in stanzas in the beautiful new mester literary genre,mentions for the first time the grape variety whichwill become predominant in Ribera del Duero and allover Castille and the Rioja: Tempranillo.

“There one can find late-ripening grapes
And others that ripen sooner, called Tempranillo,
As well as white Alfonsinas, that turn yellow,
And black Alfonsinas that are purple in colour”

The patient, present-day alchemists at Bodegas Vereda Real have used this Tempranillo grape, which is rooted in the Middle Ages together with the delicate French Cabernet Sauvignon, whichis well-adapted to the extreme climate of Utiel- Requena, and have produced a rounded wine whichis both complex and elegant. These two varietiescomplement each other in a way that no others do.Tempranillo’s sweetness and low acidity together with Cabernet Sauvignon’s more complex structure give us a wine which is worthy of the Grail.

It is a wine worthy of the Grail andworthy of the music accompanying our own internaljourney through the age of chivalry. It is a wine to besavoured as we let our minds wander to dreamlike landscapes where we can hear knights lamenting, but also chivalric love songs, ballads, and eulogies ofnoble knights or the Virgin Mary. Carles Magraner hasmade a very special journey to seek out this music in mediaeval codices and in the cathedrals guarding and watching over the relics placed there out of the religious fervour which imbued that yearning for perfection and knightly asceticism with something ofthe divine. It is a journey through mediaeval Europe inwhich the path to be followed is what matters more than anything else, always in pursuit of that ideal of perfection.