The name Mendoza carries great weight in the Alicante region in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula. Enrique Mendoza has already set standards here and shown what is possible in this region. His son Pepe, long-time oenologist at his father's winery, has now set up his own small winery and is laying class to the throne. Pepe Mendoza has acquired a historic vineyard near Lliber in a part of the region where the Romans already cultivated wine, with vines between 50 and 100 years old. These parcels are not easy to work, as this vineyard is quite steep and the vines stand on historic, brick-built terraces. Only indigenous grape varieties such as Airén, Macabeo or the international Muscat d'Alexandrie, which is always native here, are cultivated for dry white wines, while Monastrell, Giró or Alicante Bouschet are used for the red wines. A little Syrah rounds off the range of grape varieties. The parcels are consistently cultivated organically. The wines are often fermented with the raisins, a recourse to traditional techniques that lend the wines an exciting character. However, they are also open to innovations that ultimately stem from tradition, such as fermenting and ageing the wines in large clay jugs or amphorae. Tradition, however, is the guiding principle behind almost all of the estate's wines. Interventions in nature are avoided, the wines are fermented and matured in large barrels, and the use of new wood is avoided as far as possible. Instead, the wines impress with their authentic and original character and have undoubtedly long been among the flagships of the region.
