Domaines Lupier

Domaines Lupier - in harmony with nature

Domaines Lupier is the project of Enrique Basarte and Elisa Ucar. Enrique has been working in the wine industry for more than 25 years. His path ranges from working as a winegrower, to studying agricultural engineering, to a degree in oenology at the University of La Rioja, which then led him to positions as technical director of viticulture at several large wineries in Rioja, Navarra, Ribera del Duero and many other estates. His wife Elisa supports him with her business background, which she developed through her degree from the University of Navarra and likewise through her work in the wine industry. The two of them are among the few “true” vignerons in the area: they take care of the vines themselves, live in the estate house, and make their wines without the help of consultants or cellar masters.

The 27 treasures of Domaines Lupier

Domaines Lupier owns twenty-seven small plots with old Grenache Noir vines that were purchased specifically for this project and individually rescued.
After years of experience in the wine sector, and convinced that a great wine is created in the vineyard, Elisa and Enrique studied the terroirs of various regions in 2006 until they found what they were looking for: old black Grenache vines in the high altitudes of the mountains and northern Spain, with soils dominated by limestone, with different exposures, 27 treasures, vineyards that had been abandoned, some planted as early as 1903. These micro-plots were purchased one by one. Since then, they have lovingly cared for the small vineyards day after day, which are managed exclusively according to organic principles.

The road to the Domaines Lupier winery

The vineyards were organized; now they needed an estate house. So they bought a house very close by, an old stone house from the nineteenth century, and converted it. There they built a small cellar designed for about 50,000 bottles and equipped with small tanks and barrels:

• large tanks of 3,500 and 5,500 l
• smaller ones of 1,500, 600 and 500 l

Ageing takes place in French oak barrels and is closely monitored and controlled from day to day, hour by hour.

Two wines have emerged from Enrique and Elisa’s project: La Dama and El Terroir. These wines reflect the philosophy of Domaines Lupier, namely, to be able to change from year to year, just as nature does, and not to force it into a corset. Only Garnacha is used as the grape variety, a variety that is very close to Enrique and Elisa’s hearts.