In light of the many good quality, modernly styled wines for the price that Spain makes, this is a perfect example of what's quietly going on behind the big names. With their long history of copious vine-growing, there are still tucked away plots of old, thick scraggly vines that can make wines that rise above the rest. This is what people like Elisa Ucar and Enrique Basarte, proprietors of Domaine Lupier, seek out in order to make exceptional, small-production wines. Their "discovery" for this project was a collection of plots near the village of San Martin de Unx, in the Navarra wine region south of Pamplona.
Elisa and Enrique's winemaking philosophy is in line with a great number of the top winemakers around the world: If vineyards are truly great, then you're able to intervene less in what nature has provided in order to make wines of great character and quality. For Domaine Lupier, this includes relying on those old vines to farm organically and biodynamically without irrigation (dry farming), and fermenting with the native yeasts.
This is a must-try for classic red wine lovers!
WINE ADVOCATE 97 POINTS - "No 2017 was produced, so after the 2016 I tasted a while ago, we jump to the 2018 La Dama, vinified by Enrique Basarte and Elisa Úcar and blended and bottled by Raúl Pérez, the new owner of the project. They always look for a more delicate expression of Garnacha from selected stonier plots of old head-pruned and dry-farmed vines in the village of San Martín de Unx that are worked organically and biodynamically but are not certified. The wine is stunning, elegant and aromatic, with depth, complexity and grip. It's incredibly young and expressive and doesn't show its age at all; it has a refined nose and is quite fruit-driven and floral, with very integrated oak (like never before), supple flavors and very fine tannins. It has good ripeness and contained alcohol (13.8%) and good freshness and acidity (with a pH of 3.46 and 6.3 grams of tartaric)." - LG
"... pure Garnacha from old head-pruned and dry-farmed vines from different plots in the village of San Martín de Unx on limestone-rich soils. The vines are worked organically and biodynamically, and the fermentation and work in the vineyard is with the natural yeasts and with as little intervention as possible..." - From Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate
Elisa and Enrique's winemaking philosophy is in line with a great number of the top winemakers around the world: If vineyards are truly great, then you're able to intervene less in what nature has provided in order to make wines of great character and quality. For Domaine Lupier, this includes relying on those old vines to farm organically and biodynamically without irrigation (dry farming), and fermenting with the native yeasts.
This is a must-try for classic red wine lovers!
WINE ADVOCATE 97 POINTS - "No 2017 was produced, so after the 2016 I tasted a while ago, we jump to the 2018 La Dama, vinified by Enrique Basarte and Elisa Úcar and blended and bottled by Raúl Pérez, the new owner of the project. They always look for a more delicate expression of Garnacha from selected stonier plots of old head-pruned and dry-farmed vines in the village of San Martín de Unx that are worked organically and biodynamically but are not certified. The wine is stunning, elegant and aromatic, with depth, complexity and grip. It's incredibly young and expressive and doesn't show its age at all; it has a refined nose and is quite fruit-driven and floral, with very integrated oak (like never before), supple flavors and very fine tannins. It has good ripeness and contained alcohol (13.8%) and good freshness and acidity (with a pH of 3.46 and 6.3 grams of tartaric)." - LG
"... pure Garnacha from old head-pruned and dry-farmed vines from different plots in the village of San Martín de Unx on limestone-rich soils. The vines are worked organically and biodynamically, and the fermentation and work in the vineyard is with the natural yeasts and with as little intervention as possible..." - From Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate
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