Description
It doesn't get much more old school than Bodegas Cueva. Founded in 2000, yet the the original winery is from the 18th century, and not much has changed since then. Mariano Taberner knows his land intricately and in an almost mystical way translates the Mediterranean essence through his grapes. One of the first to be certified organic (by the Comité de Agricultura Ecológica de la Comunidad Valenciana) he is committed to biodiversity and the health of his vineyards.
Cueva hosts a variety of 100+ year old centenary vines of Tempranillo, Bobal, and Tardana (a white grape that is used for most of the sparkling wines). All of the wines are kept naturally cool in long, undisturbed underground cellars. As a winemaker, he's known for being a bit of a magician, using unique fermentation techniques and unconventional vinification methods. Everything is bottled without filtering, fining, or sulphur additions of any kind.
This is a blend of Bobal and Marselan grown certified organic on sandy-calcarious soils at 650-700m altitude. Hand harvested and fermented with native yeasts. As with all the wines here they are unfiltered, unfined, and with no additions of sulfur. The wine ages for a year in stainless steel and are medium-bodied with a freshness unexpected from Valencian Mediterranean red wines. Supple, a little fuller than the regular tinto (as Marcelan is a cross of Cabernet and Grenache). Their motto says it all “Grape and nothing else!”
