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Buy Wine from Bodega y Viñedos Akilia
Bodega y viñedos Akilia, welcome to a universe of suspense, terror and envies spread by those wine makers who are reluctant to open their eyes to this Pandora box that Akilia unleashes! This article is liable to hurt the sensibility of those readers that do not wish to be informed of home truths…
Akilia, Akilia, Akilia… pure air is breathed here, coming from a mountain range placed at the south of the Bierzo region. Brooks and small rivers from the mounts bring clear water to the whole Bierzo district. In this splendid scenery you have the feeling that no human being has yet spoiled nature, so everything is still natural, intact…. It remained this way until the year 2010 when a young Catalan wine maker brake in to the province and settled in the skirt of Montes Aquilianos, nowhere else but Ponferrada.
Because Ponferrada, in the southern part of Bierzo, according to Mario is the coldest area and the most suitable for white wine production; here Mencía variety cannot ripen properly due to the climate. Today, who dares producing white wines in Bierzo area?
Environmentally concerned, with observant spirit and a humble worker, Mario want the mountains to depict his wines both past and present: magical akilian juice! We never heard Mario raise his voice. His has a deep look and when talking to him about wines you cannot help but noticing his mind is just working on how to improve his wine.
Mario Rovira is a truly wine artisan, young and easy, who after completing his studies on Agricultural Engineering specialized in oenology at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona. After some experiences in South Africa and New Zealand pursuing wine's truth, he ended up in 2009 working directly for Jean Claude Berrouet at Château Lafleur-Petrus, owned by Jean Pierre Moueix in Pomerol. Once he finally found his way he travelled several times to Bierzo region in search of a piece of land. Why Bierzo? Mario tells us that he “was looking for indigenous grape varieties, old vines, traditionally goblet trained, with narrow planting distances, in hillsides, settled on qualitative soils and in cold weather… All these requirements headed me to Bierzo”.
Thus, in 2010 he purchased three plots of old vine of different features that totalled 2.5 hectares and it is not until 2011 when Mario can launch his first Akilia production. So far nothing had happened, but just as his first harvest is done, his wine spread like wildfire in the best gastronomic Spanish restaurants and in international reviews, the envy and suspicions of other wine producers began to arise. Until that moment they enjoyed a quiet and comfortable life, Bierzo was the country of the blind where the one-eyed man was king! With Mario, rules have changed and this has only just started.
We had the pleasure of sharing a complete day-work with Mario Rovira and can guarantee that his almost 12.000 wine bottles are produced exclusively with the sweat of his brow as he does not have any external support. Akilia is Mario squared! In the vineyard there is real obsession on good practices, winter pruning, summer pruning (plant's architecture) and a good soil job with the power tiller. At the cellar fermentation is carried out on concrete tanks purchased in Burgundy, with very gentle pumping. Might that be the procedure he learned at Petrus?
Akilia's three declarations are: Akilia Chano Villar has its origins in a gentle slate hill plot settled facing east and with franc clay soils. The wine is aged in cement and it is a faithful reflection of the area substance. Its main distinctive signs are acidity lightness and maturity. Akilia Lombano comes from half a hectare of vines placed in a very steep slope, west facing, of franc sandy and quartz soils. Here Mario shows us the personality of the naive young boy who went to Paris to study into the shape of a tasty red wine. This wine has aged in wood, so even though from a mature soil, its power is relaxed and its vigour turns into something subtle, sexual and charming. Finally, K de Akilia, an encyclopaedia on how to produce a bright and striking Palomino Fino white wine. Only 0,2 hectares located in a hill facing east on franc sandy soils with slate and quartz. The result is pure granite, lime peel and grapefruit juice. Succulent, overwhelming and unstoppable!
*As Jean Claude Berrouet once said “Best red wines are those with little tannin”.
**Akilia, only suitable to developed, open minds.
Akilia: Bierzo's enfant terrible!
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Buy Wine from Bodega y Viñedos Akilia
Bodega y viñedos Akilia, welcome to a universe of suspense, terror and envies spread by those wine makers who are reluctant to open their eyes to this Pandora box that Akilia unleashes! This article is liable to hurt the sensibility of those readers that do not wish to be informed of home truths…
Akilia, Akilia, Akilia… pure air is breathed here, coming from a mountain range placed at the south of the Bierzo region. Brooks and small rivers from the mounts bring clear water to the whole Bierzo district. In this splendid scenery you have the feeling that no human being has yet spoiled nature, so everything is still natural, intact…. It remained this way until the year 2010 when a young Catalan wine maker brake in to the province and settled in the skirt of Montes Aquilianos, nowhere else but Ponferrada.
Because Ponferrada, in the southern part of Bierzo, according to Mario is the coldest area and the most suitable for white wine production; here Mencía variety cannot ripen properly due to the climate. Today, who dares producing white wines in Bierzo area?
Environmentally concerned, with observant spirit and a humble worker, Mario want the mountains to depict his wines both past and present: magical akilian juice! We never heard Mario raise his voice. His has a deep look and when talking to him about wines you cannot help but noticing his mind is just working on how to improve his wine.
Mario Rovira is a truly wine artisan, young and easy, who after completing his studies on Agricultural Engineering specialized in oenology at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona. After some experiences in South Africa and New Zealand pursuing wine's truth, he ended up in 2009 working directly for Jean Claude Berrouet at Château Lafleur-Petrus, owned by Jean Pierre Moueix in Pomerol. Once he finally found his way he travelled several times to Bierzo region in search of a piece of land. Why Bierzo? Mario tells us that he “was looking for indigenous grape varieties, old vines, traditionally goblet trained, with narrow planting distances, in hillsides, settled on qualitative soils and in cold weather… All these requirements headed me to Bierzo”.
Thus, in 2010 he purchased three plots of old vine of different features that totalled 2.5 hectares and it is not until 2011 when Mario can launch his first Akilia production. So far nothing had happened, but just as his first harvest is done, his wine spread like wildfire in the best gastronomic Spanish restaurants and in international reviews, the envy and suspicions of other wine producers began to arise. Until that moment they enjoyed a quiet and comfortable life, Bierzo was the country of the blind where the one-eyed man was king! With Mario, rules have changed and this has only just started.
We had the pleasure of sharing a complete day-work with Mario Rovira and can guarantee that his almost 12.000 wine bottles are produced exclusively with the sweat of his brow as he does not have any external support. Akilia is Mario squared! In the vineyard there is real obsession on good practices, winter pruning, summer pruning (plant's architecture) and a good soil job with the power tiller. At the cellar fermentation is carried out on concrete tanks purchased in Burgundy, with very gentle pumping. Might that be the procedure he learned at Petrus?
Akilia's three declarations are: Akilia Chano Villar has its origins in a gentle slate hill plot settled facing east and with franc clay soils. The wine is aged in cement and it is a faithful reflection of the area substance. Its main distinctive signs are acidity lightness and maturity. Akilia Lombano comes from half a hectare of vines placed in a very steep slope, west facing, of franc sandy and quartz soils. Here Mario shows us the personality of the naive young boy who went to Paris to study into the shape of a tasty red wine. This wine has aged in wood, so even though from a mature soil, its power is relaxed and its vigour turns into something subtle, sexual and charming. Finally, K de Akilia, an encyclopaedia on how to produce a bright and striking Palomino Fino white wine. Only 0,2 hectares located in a hill facing east on franc sandy soils with slate and quartz. The result is pure granite, lime peel and grapefruit juice. Succulent, overwhelming and unstoppable!
*As Jean Claude Berrouet once said “Best red wines are those with little tannin”.
**Akilia, only suitable to developed, open minds.
Akilia: Bierzo's enfant terrible!