Sexto Elemento is a tiny production estate with a key focus on one of Spain's underrated grape varietals - Bobal. Rafa Lopez took over the family farm in 2000. Instead of selling their fruit to the cooperatives like generations before him, Rafa decided to produce a powerful & elegant style of Bobal, as compared to the mediocre quality of the cooperatives

Vinification

Now, with the traditions that were passed on to him from his father, he carries out a natural elaboration in the cellar, never uses any sulfites, and allows the wines to go through a very long and slow natural fermentation (11+ months). Scarce rainfall, hot summers, and bitter cold winters help to create a perfect situation for the thick-skinned Bobal variety, and at Rafa's mere 6-hectare estate, he only yields 1-1.5 kg per vine on average. An annual production of just 10,000 bottles makes these exclusive wines of Sexto Elemento a cult-style production, with the power and elegance to be one of the most coveted in all of Spain.

Vineyards

Located in Venta Del Moro, the key to this plateau is its peculiar climate in summer, conditioned by its altitude (750-1000 m) and its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, which generates a complex combination of incredible marine and mountain climate. Summer days are warm and dry but the nights are typicaly Mediterranean, fresh and wet, which challenges and encourages the plant every day, something that every winemaker dreams of happening in their vineyard. This allows for a thermal difference between day and night of more than 20 degrees, a gift for obtaining high quality wines

The soil in the area is of sandy clay, allowing it to retain more nutrients and water. It allows for more elegant, structured wines, as the maturation cycles are longer and a greater polyphenol load is achieved during maturation.