Bodega La Encina, located on the border of the provinces of Alicante and Albacete, is one of the first important wine estates in the Valencian country to benefit from ecological certification. Better still, the vines are fully cultivated according to the recommendations of biodynamics and the lunar calendar. Here the terroir is located on a plateau at 680m which receives an influence from the Mediterranean. It is hot in summer and cold in winter, an ideal climate for the vines which are planted in clay-sandy soil.
José Maria is over 80 years old. As a child, José Maria helped his father who raised wine that can be considered natural, it is in 2007 that he begins to make wine under the name of La Encina. The vines have been certified ecological since 2001, biodynamics applied since 2013. Since 2018, Carles the nephew of José Maria joined the vineyard and launched his own line of wines, Llunavins, in the purest spirit of the house.
The visit to the vines confirms a viticulture that respects the living, a sine qua non condition for obtaining wines that can withstand the absence of added sulphites. In winter the vegetation is maintained to protect the roots from frost and provide habitat for local fauna, in summer it is reduced to avoid water competition with the vines. The dry climate makes it possible to avoid any synthetic chemical input, the only inputs are organic with the spreading of six tonnes of manure per hectare every three years.
The cultivated grape varieties are indigenous and thousand years old, the Monestrell (Moudrève de Sagunt), the Grenache and the red and white Forcallat which, cultivated without irrigation, produce between 1.5 and 2.5 kg per vine. The breeding is done on site with indigenous yeasts, without additives, up to three to six vats of 1000 liters per day during the harvest done by hand. La Encina produces young and cellaring wines in white, red, rosé and orange, Vermouth and ancestral, single-grape varieties as blends.
Natural winemakers, here's the information we need to register you on Raisin.
DESCRIPTION OF YOUR DOMAINE
Please provide the information about your estate including location, size, treatments used,
horses, tractors, harvests, etc. within 300-500 characters. This description will be added to your profile.
CERTIFICATIONS (ORGANIC, BIODYNAMIC) :
Please send us all certifications (organic, biodynamic, etc.). If your estate is not certified,
please explain why and describe your farming practices.
INFORMATION ON EACH OF THE WINES YOU PRODUCE:
wine name
color
grape variety(ies) by year(s)
appellation
sparkling
label photo (.pdf format - printer's proof)
volume of free and total sulfur
analysis of each vintage
Is your wine from Négociant activities?
PHOTOS :
a photo of you (the winemaker)
photos of the winery and cellar (between 6 and 12)