LAUNA White Barrel Fermented

Launa winery

After 7 generations of the family linked to the world of wine, Teodoro Unzalu and Mª Felisa Gaztelurrutia built in 1978 the first winery in Villabuena (Rioja Alavesa). In 2006, the ninth generation of the family saw the birth of a project that is the fruit of enthusiasm, effort and the spirit of improvement; the construction of the current winery in Laguardia (Rioja Alavesa). Built underground and next to the Sierra de Cantabria, the winery is located at an altitude of 690 meters and surrounded by a 7-hectare vineyard. Currently three brothers Iker, Unax and Usuri are in charge of managing the winery. The important recognitions obtained both nationally and internationally are a sign of the good direction that the winery has taken.

VINEYARDS
The winery and vineyards are located in a unique enclave under the Sierra de Cantabria. This mountain range is a natural barrier that retains the humid and cold winds from the Cantabrian Sea, allowing just enough moisture to pass for the proper development of the vine. On the other hand, we are in an area under the influence of the Mediterranean climate that provides sun and the necessary heat for the plant.The vineyards are located on soils with a clay-calcareous composition and most of them oriented from North to South with a slope marked from the Sierra de Cantabria towards the Ebro river.
These characteristics generate the optimal conditions of exposure and humidity for the growth of the vine and the ripening of the grape. 57 hectares of vineyards, with an average age of 48 years, are the winery’s best guarantee. The field work takes special attention since that is where the wine is born. Controlling yields per hectare and respecting the environment are key to the quality of our wines.

ELABORATION
The new facilities allow combining traditional techniques with the latest technological advances. The 29 stainless steel tanks with capacities between 5,000 and 20,000 liters are semi-frusto-conical geometry and have cooling jackets for temperature control. They also have automatic pump-over systems to control the winemaking process at all times and thus extract the properties of the grape. The aging of the wines takes place in an underground warehouse that is 6 meters underground.
This circumstance, together with the altitude at which the winery is located (690m), means that the wines are aged naturally at an average annual temperature of 13º, thus favoring the preservation of the fruit’s character of the wine.
A total of 850 American and French oak barrels complete the aging warehouse, using 225-liter barrels and 500-liter barrels. Approximately 35% of the barrels are new while the remaining 65% never exceed 3 years of age. The aging of the wines is completed with refining in the bottle in optimal natural conditions of temperature and humidity.

Launa White Fermented Barrel

Manual harvest and gentle natural pressing to extract the flower must. It ferments in new French oak barrels on its fine lees in order to obtain volume and structure. Aged for 5 months in the same barrels where the wine ferments. Refinement in bottle at least 4 months.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Peñin Guide 2020: 92 Points
Intervinos 2020 Guide: 93 Points
International Wine Awards 2019: Gold Medal