Bodegas Vinessens
Alicante, Spain
At the forefront of Bodegas Vinessens is wife and husband team Marta Ribera and Andres Carull, third generation wine growers. Marta is a Biologist and Enologist and Andres is an Enologist and Agricultural Engineer. In 2007, after several years working with various Spanish and French wineries they decided to launch our own personal project along with Marta’s family and produce wines from their own family estate. From the very beginning they have worked organically with as little intervention as possible but in 2016, aligned with their philosophy of life, they started making their first natural wines. Since then they have embarked on a new individual project to make stripped-back, honest wines that are able to reflect their image of the countryside, history and people of Alicante.
They work with local grape varieties such as Montastrell, Garnacha, Rojal, Tortosina, Moscatel and Malvasía using nothing but fermented grape juice. They do everything by hand, including picking. They use old, traditional materials to make the wines such as concrete vats, tinajas, (Spanish amphorae) and glass. Zero sulfur is used and they are all unfined and unfiltered.
Bodegas Vinessens have 20 hectares of organically and biodynamically farmed vines on the hillside of the ‘Sierra Salinas’ with an altitude from 550 to 700 meters above sea level. The vines are rooted in limestone soil, in general both sandy and stony and extremely low in organic matter. Half the vines are found surrounding the town of Villena at over 600 meters above sea level and the other half in the Natural Park of La Mata right on the Mediterranean coast. Some of the vines are up to 100 years old.
Tragolargo Blanco
Tragolargo means “Long Gulp” – the idea is wine that are easy drinking and enjoyable in their youth. 70% Moscatel, 30% Malvasia. Moscatel vines located in the Salinas de la Mata Natural Park in Torrevieja and Malvasía from Puerto de La Harina Estate. Both plots have very sandy and saline soils. Naturally fermented on skins for 30 days. Aging in amphora. No added sulfur.
Tragalargo Tinto
Tragolargo means “Long Gulp” – the idea is wine that are easy drinking and enjoyable in their youth. 100% Monastrell from Villena, Alicante. 3 day cold soak before partial carbonic maceration while the rest is destemmed and traditionally macerated. Total skin contact for 10 days.
Benimquia Tinajas
70% Moscatel 30% Merseguera from the ‘La Mata’ natural park in Torrevieja. Ungrafted vines planted over 50 years ago in very sandy, salty soils. Naturally fermented on skins and kept on skins for 6 months in total. Vinification and aging in amphora.
Retail
Ellement Wine & Spirits
Jones & Co. Wine Merchants
Kenaston Wine Market
Winehouse