Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
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.
Spanish red wine is known for being bold, heady, rustic and age-worthy, Spain is truly a one-of-a-kind wine-producing nation. A great majority of the country is hot, arid and drought-ridden, and since irrigation has only been recently introduced and (controversially) accepted, viticulture has sustained—and flourished—only through a great understanding of Spain’s particular conditions. Large spacing between vines allows each enough resources to survive and as a result, the country has the most acreage under vine compared to any other country, but is usually third in production.
Of the Spanish red wines, the most planted and respected grape variety is Tempranillo, the star of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. Priorat specializes in bold red blends, Jumilla has gained global recognition for its single varietal Monastrell and Utiel-Requena has garnered recent attention for its reds made of Bobal.