GRAPES: 100% ALBILLO
SKIN CONTACT: 7 DAYS
REGION: CASTILLA Y LEÓN, SPAIN
Vinification method: Winemaker
Alfredo Maestro has become a bright light amongst an abyss of industrially farmed, over-ripe, over-oaked, and over-manipulated wine-scape that is the Ribera del Duero these days.
Alfredo grew up in the vineyard, with his family living in the winemaking town of Peñafiel in Basque Country. He began making his own wine in 1998, the same year he planted his first vineyard on the Rio Duraton. While he had always farmed organically, Alfredo was learning vinification methods "by-the-book" - that is to say, using an enology textbook to produce "proper" Ribera del Duero wines - color enhancers, curated yeasts and all.
In the early 2000’s Alfredo had a revelation, questioning why an organic farmer would use chemicals to produce finished wine. In 2003, he produced his first wine with no additives whatsoever. Recently, he's been seeking out neglected parcels to make wine from. He looks for old vines, poor limestone or granitic soils, and the requisite high elevation that gives freshness to wines grown on Spain’s great Meseta Central.
"Lovamor" grapes come from vineyards that were planted over 100 years ago, between 1891 and 1910. The vineyards are planted with different orientations, at different altitudes (between 770 and 1,000m). After being hand-harvested, the grapes are fermented in a steel vat with wild yeasts and around one week of skin contact. The wine undergoes élevage in tank with the winter temperatures naturally clarifying the finished wine, which is bottled unfined, unfiltered, no added S02.
Tasting notes: light bodied, peach, dried pear, orange peel, honeysuckle, bright acidity
Pairings: black bean burgers
Mix and match 3, 6 or 12 bottles!
