Bodegas y Vinedos Luna Beberide Mencia 2005

Alejandro Luna is the owner of this moderately sized estate. Born in Ponferrada he spent 10 years, from the age of 16 to the age of 26, in Madrid studying toward his Bachelor’s and Law degrees. After finishing his academic work, he came to work as director for the family winery in 2001 which was started in 1987.

70 hectares of vines are planted between 450 and 900 meters, on south facing slopes in calcerous clay or decomposed slate. Vines range in age from 20 years for foreign grapes to 60 years for Mencia. 5 Hectare are used for experimental vineyards looking at how foreign grapes take to Bierzo’s climate; they are planted with about 30 varieties including Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Macabeo, Albariño and Sauvignon Blanc. No herbicides or pesticides are used on the vineyards. The philosophy of the winery is to produce wines based on quality of and respect for the land, primarily from native grapes along with grapes from other parts of the world.

Winemaking starts with all grapes being hand harvested into 18 kilo boxes. Careful cluster sorting, eliminating unsound bunches continues the push toward quality. All varietals are fermented separately with native yeasts prior to aging in oak barrels. All of the wines are bottled unfiltered.