Lively Wines -- Casa Aurora Clos Pepín

“What is truly difficult is to create a winery that is profitable and sustainable long term. The easy bit is pruning on a waning moon and treading the grapes with your feet.”

Owned and operated by Germán Blanco, Lively Wines encompasses three different properties spanning from Rioja, to Ribera del Duero and onto the hills of Bierzo. Their creed is to make living wines, representative of place, with minimal intervention and authenticity in all aspects. All the wines are organically farmed, utilize traditional fermentation, and are terroir driven in the truest sense of the word. 

Forget everything you think you know about Bierzo as a regional style. While he does include Mencía in this Bierzo-sourced blend, it is not the main focus. The result is lower alcohol and higher acidity than you typically find here. Green and peppery!

Grape: Garnacha Tintorera, Garnacha, Mencía, Palomino, Portuguesa (Trousseau)

Region: Bierzo, Spain

Farming: Organic, Sustainable, hand harvested from high altitude dry farmed 78 year old vines

Winery: Spontaneously fermented with wild yeast and aged 13 months in barrel, flextank egg, and amphora, unfined/unfiltered