93 Points - Parker
Notes
Ostoki is a 80-year-old Garnacha vineyard that was previously abandoned, but nursed back to health by Luis Moya over the last 5 years. The vineyard lives on a hillside of Mount Ezcaba with a magnificent view of the city of Pamplona, it is the last remaining vineyard from a time when all the surrounding slopes were covered with vines. Ostoki, in the Basque language of Euskera, translates to "the place of leaves". Named after the flurry of falling Autumn leaves from the many Spanish Oak trees that encompass the vineyard.
In previous times, these grapes were used to make the red Txakoli of Navarra. Though Txakoli is a traditional style of wine from the Basque Country, their culture and traditions are closely intertwined.
During the Roman era, the upper part of Navarra was part of the Basque Country, sharing everything from the Basque language to the culture. The lower part, however, was taken over by the Romans, with the Roman leader Pompeii founding the city of Pamplona in 75 BC, later to become the capital of Navarra.
Rich aromas of cherry and violets, characteristic of the mature Garnacha grapes. On the palate the wine has a rustic quality that undoubtedly harkens back to those made over a century ago in the same place. Only 600 bottles were made, highly artisanal and old-school natural wine that ages well for up to 10 years.
As with all of Luis Moya's projects, the vines are cared for by hand without the use of any chemicals and the wine is made sustainably with very low intervention. Bottled, labeled, and lacquered by hand.
Facts
Annual Production: 600 bottles (The club has access to 80 annually)
Type: Tinto (Red)
Body: Full
Palate: Dry
Finish: fruity, rustic
Grape Variety: Majority Garnacha with tiny amounts of Mazuelo, Garnacha Roya, Garnacha Blanca, Tempranillo, Viura, and various other native grapes
Viticulture / Farming: Sustainable and low intervention - Terroir Driven
ABV%: 15%
Ageing: 7 months in used 300-litre oak barrels
Winemaker: Luis Moya Tortosa
Bodega: LMT Wines
Region: Ezcaba, near Pamplona in Navarra
Designation of Origin: No DO, private project in Navarra
Micro-Climate: Continental/Mediterranean- hot and dry summers and rainy in the winters
Elevation: 550 meters above sea level
Age of Vines: 80+ years, planted in 1940
Soil: calcareous
Tips
- Drink now or keep for up to 10 years
- No decanting necessary, just uncork 20-30 minutes before serving
- Pairs with Tapas, Manchego or any cheese (cow, goat or sheep), Ibérico ham, Paté or any Spreads, Poultry, Pasta or Pizza, Legumes or Meat, typical Spanish dishes, all Mediterranean and Asian rice-based dishes spiced but not too hot.
- Ideal at 16 Celsius
Terroir
The Ostoki vineyard sits at 550 meters on a hillside of Mount Ezcaba in Pamplona, Navarra. The vineyard faces South, giving it amazing sun exposure with views of Pamplona. The calcareous soil is poor and only fit for growing grape vines. The climate is a mix of Continental and Atlantic with hot dry summers and humid cold winters.
Vinification
Manually sorted and harvested in small crates. Naturally fermented with indigenous yeasts and bacteria in stainless tanks. No malolactic fermentation. Aged 7 months in 300 litre barrels.
Low intervention, no clarification or filtration, this is a pure wine “without any makeup” as Luis likes to say.
Winemaker
According to Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate magazine LMT Wines is considered "one of the very exciting new projects in Navarra". Navarra is the region sandwiched between La Rioja, Basque Country, Aragon, and the southern border of France. Internationally, it's best known for the Fiestas de San Fermín which occur every year in the capital of Pamplona.
L, M , and T are quite simply the initials of the excellent winemaker behind this project, Luis Moya Tortosa.
Luis likes to call himself a "Nomadic Winemaker" since, as of yet, he doesn't own any vineyard. Instead, he moves through the land, finding and reviving old vineyards in Navarra, predominantly of Garnacha, and in the area of Rioja bordering Navarra, where he also works with the Graciano variety. He rents the spaces in which he makes his nomadic wines.
For now, Luis works with 5 hectares of very old vineyards in various areas, producing about 12,000 bottles of wine a year, some of them together with his good friend and winemaker, Gonzalo Celayeta.
Luis Moya Tortosa was born in Burlada, a municipality in the outskirts of Pamplona, Navarra's capital.
Right after Luis graduated as Technical Agricultural Engineer, he started to manage and run a bar in Burlada.
As Luis says, he was the one that drank the most wine in that bar, and a large variety of wines, not only from Navarra. This is when he really started to fall in love with the culture of wine.
He began working in the Cooperative Winery of Aibar, a municipality east of Pamplona.
Since he was already fully involved in wine culture he decided to make it official. He enrolled in the Masters of Oenology, Viticulture and Marketing at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM).
After achieving his Master's degree, he spent a few years working in research and helping in the production of Navarra's Institutional Wine at the Institute of Oenology and Viticulture (EVENA).
Whilst working at EVENA, he graduated in Oenology at the University of La Rioja, and he completed his studies achieving Level 3 at the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET 3).
Then, working as an oenologist at the "Vitivinícola de Cárcar" he began producing his first wine, which was Masusta in 2012.
In Luis' own words translated from Spanish "My passion for the world of wine not only pushes me to produce different wines but also gives me the opportunity to travel to areas that I haven't yet explored and discover terroirs from which I can learn and draw inspiration. My world circles around Navarra and Rioja; in Navarra the Garnachas give me all my joy, and in Rioja the innumerable variety of different terroirs never cease to amaze me."
Ratings & Reviews
93 Points - Luis Gutiérrez Santo Domingo (Wine Advocate, Robert Parker)
"The only wine I tasted from 2018 was the 2018 Ostoki, Garnacha from one of the few remaining vineyards that were used to produce the old red txakoli from Pamplona. 2018 was a higher-yielding year, and the grapes ripened slowly and managed to keep very good freshness (the bottled wine has a pH of 3.26). The vineyard is thought to be around 80 years of age, and like all the old vineyards, it's mostly Garnacha but also has some individual vines of other varieties, such as Tempranillo, Mazuela, Garnatxa Roya, Garnatxa Blanca, Monastrell, Viura and Moscatel. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in one used 300-litre oak barrel and 54-litre glass demijohns for 10 months. This wine is sold with no appellation of origin. It's the most extreme and radical of the wines I tasted from Luis Moya, a young wine with a bright color and a wild nose of herbs, berries and flowers. The palate is sharp and has pungent flavours and acidity. It's not a wine for all palates, but it has lots of character. I loved it! Only 600 bottles were filled in January 2020."
