Los Frailes Rubificado is an organic wine made by the Casa Los Frailes winery in Vals dels Alforins, an area southwest of the D.O. Valencia, where the Velázquez family runs their company, one of the oldest in Spain, founded in 1771.
Now, three centuries later, this 162-hectare estate is still going strong. 130 of these hectares are vineyards growing on five different types of soils: dolomite, white limestone, yellow limestone, alluvial and rubified. Undoubtedly, this range of substrates gives a great richness to Casa Los Frailes. And they were keen to capture this wide variety in a series of wines. These include Los Frailes Rubificado, a red made from Garnacha Tintorera grown in these iron-rich soils located in the ‘Los Aperos’ estate, an area with reddish soils. This colouring is due to the accumulation of rust that stains the surface with this characteristic and striking colour.
Here the young vines (13 years old) are planted in bush form at an altitude of 650 metres above sea level and are cultivated using dry farming following the principles of biodynamics. They are all experts in this at Casa Los Frailes, where María José and Miguel Velázquez (siblings and the latest generation of the company) were already using this cultivation method in the late 1990s. When no one else in Spain was considering eliminating herbicides or chemicals from their fields, these siblings achieved organic certification in 2002.
In the winery, this minimal intervention philosophy is maintained, always making sure the grapes express themselves without any kind of mask. To do this, Los Frailes Rubificado is vinified in the old stone wine presses that were used and installed by the former owners (a group of Jesuit monks who made wine there). For Los Frailes Rubificado, 50% of the clusters are fermented whole. Finally, Los Frailes Rubificado spends 10 months aging in amphorae half-buried in the ground, achieving the purest expression of the Garnacha. This is because ceramic, unlike wood, is a material that does not give off any flavour or aroma to the wine.
Los Frailes Rubificado is not the only single-plot wine. There is also Los Frailes Dolomites and Los Frailes Limestone (each vinified in the corresponding terroir). We recommend trying all three together, at the same time. This is the only way to experience the differences and nuances of this area of southwest Valencia. A winning trio!