To the rhythm of the music of Rage Against The Machine. This is how it is presented Manuel Requena his small wine project in a promotional video. A small winery in Socuéllamos (Ciudad Real)in the heart of Mancha, whose motto is: “Natural wine and rural life without postures: calluses on the hands, pain in the kidneys and sincere hugs”.
With the name Vinos Indar, a word that means “strength” in Basque and “agricultural tool” in old Spanish, this young 34-year-old winemaker has returned to his origins, to the land of his ancestors. A region, La Mancha, which boasts of having the largest vineyard in the world, but where it is not all about large productions and bulk, but rather small pockets of quality and authenticity.
And it’s not just anyone who says it; It is all said by a sommelier of the stature of Josep Roca, who, with his brothers Joan and Jordi, runs El Celler de Can Roca.the famous restaurant in Girona that is among the best in the world. “It is possible to offer a wine with an acoustic and intimate look, which has to do with avoiding the rural exodus in a really vast territory where there is a treasure,” he says about Indar’s project.
But this is not the only prestigious restaurant where you can find these wines, since others like Montia or Santerra have incorporated them into their menus. This is the result, but for a decade, Manuel Requena has not stopped working, accumulating calluses on his hands and pain in his kidneys, as well as sincere hugs, as the motto of his winery emphasizes, to recover the winemaking tradition of his great-great-grandparents, who began in 1935. “Although I went abroad to study, I felt the call of my ancestors and it was my grandfather who taught me this trade when I returned,” he remembers.
His family, according to what he says, marketed wine until the middle of the 20th century, in Socuéllamos, as in all of La Mancha.cooperatives and large productions were created. However, tradition dictates that the wine is aged in cement jars and vats, which this young man recovered when he decided to take over from his ancestors at only 22 years old.
His project, as he defines it, is “very humble”, with 7 hectares of vines that will later be converted into wine in a small winery installed in an old garage where his family kept the tractor. “The company allows us to live from our vines and to be able to practice a viticulture that we believe in, ecological and sustainable, with a clear focus on natural wines and the native grape varieties of the region”, he explains.
Among the varieties she works with are Cencibel, Parellada, Macabeo, Tinto Velasco, Crujidera and, above all, the symbol of La Mancha, Airén.of which Manuel Requena can boast of having old vines. “Airén has been used a lot to sell in bulk and mix with other grapes or for distillation, so it has always been masked with chemicals, but now small projects like mine, what we do is give it back the value it had because I am sure that our grandparents and great-grandparents drank spectacular wines with this variety,” he says.
Some of his creations
It is with these wicker baskets that this young self-taught winemaker makes young wines that are already in their fifth vintage and that begin to be marketed in March after aging for six months in jars (clay and cement) and barrels. Among them are four white wines, all made from the Airén variety: La Pelá Llano, La Pelá Pie Franco, Ventusque (Airén with hyperoxidation) and Candongo (Airén from a late harvest); three red wines: Bollolé (tempranillo), Indar (cencibel and perellada) and Lebrel (airén and macabeo with the novelty of tinto velasco); and two sparkling wines: Venturi Blanc (airén) and Venturi Rosé (red from the white pampas).
However, every year he brings out new things and adapts to climate change, which is why he is constantly testing and researching new varieties because, Although Manuel Requena works like his ancestors, he looks to the future with a utopian realism, which drives him to produce these unique and environmentally friendly wines.. What are you waiting for to try them?
