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Bodegas Enrique Mendoza started in 1989 as a family company, but the project had been brewing since the end of the 1970s, when Enrique Mendoza began to buy bottles and to invest in other wineries´ wines as an enthusiast. Later, recovering the old tradition of producing home-made wine in our area, he planted the first hundred vines with which he produced his first barrel for home consumption. The first extension expanded the operation to 2,000 vines of multiple grape varieties with the goal of assessing the acclimatisation of the grapes to Alfaz del Pi, in southeastern Spain´s Alicante province. It was no longer possible for the family alone to consume the entire production of this plantation, and a solution for this situation had to be found. The most viable solution that Enrique Mendoza saw was not to pull the vines up but the complete opposite: to plant more of them and make the wine available commercially.

After this experimental phase, the Mendoza family moved to inland Villena, on the high Spanish plateau, to carry out the second expansion, which brought the total to 120,000 vines of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Chardonnay.

Bodegas Mendoza very much fits the mould of a Frech "chateau", and the wines come from its own vineyards only. Currently the family operates two separate wineries, one in the coastal township of Alfaz del Pi and the other in Villena.

The Alfaz del Pi winery is equipped to age wines in oak barrels. Five hectares of wineyards are devoted to the production of Muscat grapes, which thrive in this coastal area. Both the native variety Moscatel de Alenjandría (Muscat of Alexandria) and the French Moscatel de Grano Menudo (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains/Muscat de Frontignan) are grown here.

The second winery, located in Villena, currently makes wine from vineyards totalling 80 hectares (192 acres), half of wich are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest to Merlot, Shiraz and Pinot Noir plus the white varieties, Chardonnay and Parellada.

A winery of novel design, it is equipped with the latest technolohy for the fermentation and production of wines, with more than 1,000,000 refrigeration units to amply control fermentation, and barrels made from oak from the world´s best forests: Limousin, Allier, Vosges, Chechenia, Russia, Hungary, Missouri, and Oregon.

Wines are made from specific vineyards. In the words of Enrique Mendoza, "the best wine is in the best vineyard". Every year pertinent analyses are performed as much on the soil as on the plants, to know as thoroughly as possible the needs of the vineyard and to establish a strict fertilisation plan.

Bodegas Mendoza has become one of the most influential wineries on Spain´s Mediterranean strip and makes some of the most notable wines on the national and international scene. This is highlighted by its top cuvée, the Reserva Santa Rossa, a red blend from its Villena vineyard.

	Enrique Mendoza, Merlot - Crianza 2003 - Alicante D.O. This wine was harvested on the 25th of September of 2003. It was fermented and soaked in stainless steel deposits at a controlled temperature of 27ºC. Afterwards it was left in barrels made of American oak from Ohio during 12 months. I have a red ruby colour with maroon sparkles and a high-medium layer. On the mouth it is mature, calm with a fine and elegant tannin charge. The bouquet reminds of lower mountain like rosemary, lavender, and thyme. Red fruits join, as well as floral aromas, characteristic of this variety. We recommend decanting, as natural sediments may appear with aging. Price: 8,95 €
	Enrique Mendoza, Pinot Noir - Crianza 2002 - Alicante D.O. The grape was picked the 2nd fortnight of September. After that the sticks were taken out gently, so it could ferment in small deposits of stainless steel at a temperature of 25ºC, with the maximum amount of whole grain. The wine had a post fermentative soaking of 7 days. Subsequently, it was left in new French oak barrels from Allier for 12 months. It has a red ruby colour with maroon and red tile notes, due to its pass by the barrel. It has a wild fruit bouquet with blackcurrant and blueberry which entwines with low mountain notes and rosemary. It also reminds us of white flowers such as violets, as well as fine toasted notes, smoke and vanilla acquired with aging. Price: 9,50 €
	Enrique Mendoza, Petit Verdot - Alicante D.O. Big wine with a red cherry colour and violet sparkles. The bouquet reminds us of wild fruits like blackberries, blueberries and strawberries entwined with black stones, graphite, humus, wet land, undergrowth, toasted and smoked. On the mouth it is powerful, serious, meaty, with plentiful tannins which prepare it to live. Due to the handmade production procedure, we recommend to decant, as this wine hasn’t been clarified, passed by low temperatures, or micro filtered, so natural sediments may appear with aging. Price: 12,50 €
	Enrique Mendoza, Cabernet-Shiraz - Reserva 2002 - Alicante D.O. It was harvest the third week of October. The wine had a slow fermentation at 27ºC in stainless steel deposits with original yeasts from the vineyard, remaining for 18 months in barrels made of French oak from Allier. The wine has a high layer, red ruby colour with a touch of red tile. On the smelling phase it is very mineral, calm and quiet and reminds of eucalyptus and mint. On the mouth it is intense with a mature character, dense and meaty with plentiful granulated and sweet tannins, keeping a perfect balance between acidity, alcoholic degree, fruit and wood. The aftertaste is long and harmonious, and the great quality smoked and toasted notes return to us once more. This wine hasn’t suffered a clarification, it hasn’t been passed by cold or microfiltered. Due to the hand-made treatment it may have natural sediments as the years pass. It is a wine to keep and consume on a long-term. Price: 12,75 €
	Santa Rosa, Reserva 2002 - Alicante D.O. This wine has been manufactured with special selected grapes and only the smallest grapes have been picked. The grapes ferment with environmental yeast searching for a greater depth of the wine. The wine ferments at 28ºC, and has a post-fermentative soaking of 14 days. It was left for 18 months in new barrels made of French oak from Allier and Nevers. Wine of a high layer. Red ruby colour, intense with red tile sparkles acquired with the aging. On the smelling phase it is very mineral, reminding us of graphite, humus, black stones and freshly farmed land. These mineral aromas finally entwine with spicy notes, soothing and floral like the violet. On the mouth it is very well balanced, uniting power and elegance with a firm tannic charge on the centre of the mouth, without concentrations or aggressiveness. The aftertaste is large and harmonious and the smoked and toasted notes acquired with the pass by the barrel return once more. Price: 20,00 €