Baldovar 923 "Cerro Negro" 2020 Mencía Baldovar, Valencia

100% Mencía

Aging: 10 months with 70% in clay amphora and 30% in stainless steel.

Vineyard: Organic in practice

Alcohol: 12.5% ABV

Production: 300 cases

Grapes: 100% Mencía from 40-year-old vines planted at 980 meters. Bush (goblet) and trellis trained vines.

Soils/Climate: Limestone and sandy loam soils. High altitude continental climate with significant thermal variation between daytime and night. 350 mm rainfall in 2020.

Viticulture: Ecological viticulture in conversion (no pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or tractors) and following the lunar cycle (flower and fruit days for all oenological actions). Field selection and manual harvest in boxes.

Winemaking: 70% destemmed for semi-carbonic maceration and 30% whole cluster for cold carbonic maceration. Spontaneous fermentation with the skins for a half lunar cycle where grapes are softly extracted with daily foot stomping. 10 months aging with 70% in clay amphora and 30% in stainless steel. Low total SO2 (19 mg/L). Unfined with a very gentle filtration to remove sediment.

Background: Located in the mountains of Valencia, in the village of Baldovar (at 923 meters altitude). Baldovar 923 was born in 2016 as a dream of its four founders and based on the tremendous potential to produce high quality wines given the purity of the soils, climatic characteristics, high altitude, and the old vine varieties of the area. They restored the wine cellars from a cooperative built in 1958 that had closed more than a decade prior. Their 14 hectares of vines are 20-80 years old and grow at 900-1,200 meters altitude. Their wines are made with as little intervention as possible, both in the vineyards and in the cellar using indigenous yeasts with no added fining agents, nutrients, or chemicals.