In 2006 Gonzalo Celayeta started to work as a winemaker at Bodegas San Martín, the local cooperative in San Martín de Unx, within the subarea of Baja Montaña in the DO Navarra. This small village is one of the last strongholds of Garnacha in the appellation.
Born in the nearby medieval town of Olite and trained at EVENA (Navarra’s Viticulture and Oenology Centre), Celayeta launched his own small project in 2004. In the beginning he worked with both international and local varieties, but gradually he concentrated on Garnacha from San Martín de Unx. He believes that Garnacha has the ability to convey the character of the land in which it is grown, and in particular the aromatic notes of the plants that surround the vineyards.
He currently produces around 25,000 bottles of white, rosé and red wines. The range includes two rosés. La Huella de Aitana (6,500 bottles, €11, named after Gonzalo's first daughter) is made from grapes grown in the Baja Montaña and Ribera Alta sub-areas and fermented and aged on the lees in oak barrels for four months. Instead, the rounder, finely textured La Huella de Aitana Cuvée Zen (1,500 bottles, €25) is aged in barrel (eight months) and tinaja (10 months). It is much richer, but this is offset by the high acidity provided by a small amount of Garnacha Blanca in the blend.
The tinaja is also used for Huracán Daniela (4,500 bottles, €11.5, named after Gonzalo's second daughter), a white blend of Garnacha Blanca (70%) Viura and Chardonnay with a character of its own.
Reds include El Piano (4,000 bottles, €11) and El Duende (€25, 1,400 bottles). Both are Garnacha from San Martín de Unx. Aged in American oak, El Piano seeks to convey the Mediterranean aromas of the vineyards, which are planted on terraces and slopes at about 600m elevation in different areas of the village. El Duende is a mountain Garnacha; the grapes come from two special plots at higher elevations, and the wine is aged in seasoned Frenck oak. Although much lighter in colour, it has remarkable depth and vibrant acidity.
Celayeta is also involved in a joint project with Luis Moya and advises several Garnacha-based projects that source grapes from San Martín de Unx, such as Unsi, a charming urban winery in Olite, or Latido de Sara.
With Moya, he produces two pét-nats under the Kimera brand: a Garnacha Blanca with a small addition of direct-pressed juice from red Garnacha, and a rosé with the opposite grape ratio. It all started with the idea of making a red Garnacha aged in tinaja (clay jars). They had such a hard time getting the tinajas that the whole thing seemed like a chimera, hence the name. The finally managed to produce a red Kimera (7,000 bottles, €14) which is a fresh, fruity wine with lots of herbal notes, a distinctive feature of wines from San Martín de Unx.
