Luzador Los Andreses
‘Luzador’ is a warrior of the sun – a fighter for the light. ‘Los Andreses’ refers to the shared name and talents of the winemaker and winegrowers.
This is a Certified Biodynamic and Certified Organic wine from Navarsotillo’s 40ha estate in Navarra. A blend of 50% Garnacha Tinta from vines in aluvial soil and 50% Trempranillo from those in clay. (To keep to the desired style, the 2022 vintage will see a 80/20 blend as Garnacha copes better with the hot weather of this vintage.)
Vineyards of diverse textures – alluvial topsoil, predominantly clay, gravel and limestone – are above 300m located in the Ribera Alta de Navarra: an area between the Ega and Ebro rivers with a “Mediterranean light” climate of warm to hot growing season and cold winters.
Hand harvested, the fermentation with ‘native yeasts’ of whole bunches occurs in stainless steel. Daily pump-overs are used to moderate a cool to warm fermentation – 25C rather than 28C helps minimise tannin extraction and give greater balance. The seperate vinifications of Garnacha and Tempranillo are then blended to age on their lees until being bottled unfiltered.
Luzador Los Andreses is an exclusive collaboration between two de Andres sisters – Ruth (the winemaker) and Ana (manager) – winegrower Andres Serrano of Navarsotillo, and La Luz Selections a wine importer in the USA.
The bottle is presented without a capsule to cut down on waste.
A deep ruby colour that leads to aromas of black cherry, pomegranate and juniper. Toasted peppercorn, a signature of Navarra Garnacha, comes through after a minutes in the glass, followed by dried thyme and cherry. The palate is fresh, filled with red fruit, but shows its serious side with an earthy mid-palate and noticeable grip on the finish.
Ideally paired with fully flavoured foods from the grill.
About the Producer
Navarrsotillo
Navarrsotillo, founded by brothers Andres and Ramon Serrano, is fully committed to Organic and Biodynamic agriculture in the DOs of Rioja and Navarra. In 1998 their’s was the second vineyard in Rioja to convert to organic growing.
They now have 70ha of vines in Rioja across 12 plots and 40ha in Navarra where the biggest at 18ha was the first to be bio-dynamic. They’ve found the larger the plots the more effective the treatments,
They make their own Biodynamic preparations (numbering 500) on the farms, as well as the natural compost to their own specifications; thus promoting the self-sufficiency that is intended in this type of agriculture. The dynamization is always carried out in the open air and on the farm itself; and the preparations are applied according to the needs that the vine shows at each moment of its natural cycle.
Throughout the year, the farm is subject to exhaustive and continuous monitoring. The cycle begins in November with an analysis of the land and a careful pruning process. The soils receive, firstly, nitrogen input through the sowing of green manures and, later, organic matter from crushed vine shoots and biodynamic manures that cover the land during the first months of the year.
The treatments for the prevention of pests and diseases are prolonged between the budding of the vine and the middle of August, always following the parameters set by the natural cycles. In addition, throughout the vegetative cycle of the vine, the humidity of the earth is controlled – work that, together with the monitoring of the ripening of the grapes, enables the proper selection of the fruit to obtain the highest quality in their wines.
