Terme de Laureano 3 Roig, Mendall 2021

Laureano Serres is a legend of the Catalan wine scene. His home and cellar are based in El Pinell de Brai, a hot, dusty little town that looks like something out of a Spaghetti Western and serves as the unlikely ground zero of the region’s lively wine scene.

A pioneer who has been influential in inspiring others in the area to return to their winemaking roots, Laureano was also there the night the Brutal Wine Corporation was founded and is an organiser of one of Europe’s most talked about wine fairs, H20 Vegetal. He has worked with organic fruit from the very beginning and since 2002, after forgetting to add any sulphur to the wines and liking the result, he has never looked back. He now farms six hectares of vineyards spread over parcels in El Pinell at around 170 metres of altitude and higher up in the Terra Alta, where they reach some 500 metres above sea level. There is little topsoil, meaning the vines dig right into the limestone bedrock below. The terroir lends the wines a freshness and complexity that is not always common in this part of the world.

Cariñena from forty year old vines planted almost five hundred metres above sea level on the highest plane of the Terra Alta. The grapes were fermented on the skins for twelve days, before being pressed to vats and terracotta amphorae for nine months of rest. The result is a heady, savoury wine that pairs black cherry, red earth and woody herbs to dizzying effect, and a touch of oxidation reminding Jura wines, beautiful wine!

Producer  Mendall of Laureano Serres

Origin El Pinell de Brai, Terra Alta, Catalonia, Spain

Grapes Carinena

Vintage 2021

Alcohol  14.5% ABV

Style Medium body natural red

Bottle size 750ml

Winemaking Manual harvested, grapes fermented on skin for 12 days in with ingigenous yeast. Aged for 9 months in terracotta amphorae. Undergoes naturally malolactic fermentation. Unfiltred, unfined, no SO2.

Notes Biodynamic, Natural, Organic