Los Frailes Monastrell

It is one of the oldest wineries in Spain. Its origin dates back to 1771, when an ancestor of the Velázquez family bought 'La Concepción', a property of the Jesuits that had passed to the Crown after their expulsion by Carlos III, at a public auction. Since then, for more than four centuries, these wineries have belonged to this family where wine has been continuously produced in cement tanks (just as the religious did). Both the stone press and the cellar used by the monks are still standing, beneath the house, inert to the passage of time. And it is here that the red wine Los Frailes Monastrell is produced.

Los Frailes Monastrell is a single-estate, natural and biodynamic wine, made and aged in these ancient 18th-century stone tanks. The base for its production is the Monastrell grape, a native variety that grows in several plots of the estate, at an altitude of 650 meters, where the best alluvial and sandy-loamy soils are located. The entire process and work in the field is totally biodynamic, making it one of the pioneering wineries in certification. This involves the exclusively manual management of the vineyard, without chemical products and using only homemade and natural preparations.

After the harvest, the vinification of Los Frailes Monastrell takes place in the ancient tanks of the monks. In these tanks, Los Frailes Monastrell will also undergo malolactic fermentation and will age for between 4 and 5 months. The porosity of this material, which facilitates micro-oxygenation, makes it one of the ideal containers where the Monastrell grape can show itself in all its splendor. Finally, Los Frailes Monastrell is bottled on the property and released for sale. This last step was introduced by Miguel and María José, the thirteenth and last generation to bottle their own wines (previously it was only produced in bulk).

From the outset, and despite its youth, this red wine is ready to drink. Likewise, from the winery, they ensure that Los Frailes Monastrell has a storage capacity of between 5 and 10 years. They advise waiting a bit and letting it evolve. And we can only think of who will be brave enough to wait and resist the temptation.