Sentada sobre la Bestia

They say three is a crowd. Sometimes, that’s not a good thing. Other times, it’s great. This is the story of Pilar Esteve, José Domenech and Joan Llobell. The first two are a married couple. All three are good friends with more than 10 years of experience in the world of wine. And together they form Fil. Loxera y Cia.

This project started in Fontanars dels Alforins, in the middle of the Clariano area, in the south of the D.O. Valencia, and aims to produce wines from native varieties and to recover some others that had been lost, like the Arco, the Ullet de Perdiu and the Valensí. This project was set up in 2011 at Pilar and José’s home, where they cultivate grapes on their small micro-plots, using environmentally friendly methods, with minimal intervention and no herbicides. This is where Sentada Sobre la Bestia is born.

The grapes are harvested by hand in 18 kg boxes and partially destemmed. After that, they are gently crushed, and each variety is vatted separately in small 750-litre vats. Fermentation takes place with a must already fermenting with native yeasts. Gentle pump-overs and short macerations of between 7 and 10 days are key to making Sentada Sobre la Bestia. After an initial alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation takes place. Finally, Sentada Sobre la Bestia will be finished off by aging in barrels, vats and steel tanks, all on its lees, for 10 months. The coupage or blend is Sentada Sobre la Bestia’s finishing touch.