# Mendall Santa Helena (2024)

- **Producer:** Celler Mendall
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Carinyena, Garnatxa Blanca
- **Region:** Catalonia, Spain
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 14.0%
- **Average price:** €28
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** No
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 12–15 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, strawberry, raspberry, herbaceous, fennel, liquorice

## About this wine

Celler Mendall is a pioneer of the Spanish natural wine movement based in Terra Alta, Catalonia. Founded by former computer programmer Laureano Serres and now co-managed with his daughter Alícia Serres, the estate operates entirely outside official appellation rules to craft pure, additive-free wines. The single-vineyard plot 'Santa Helena' in Vilalba dels Arcs is named in reference to the remote island where Napoleon was exiled, situated on calcareous limestone soil at over 500 meters elevation.

## Interesting facts

- The Santa Helena vineyard is named after the remote South Atlantic island of Napoleon's exile.
- Founder Laureano Serres famously withdrew from DO Terra Alta in 2006 to maintain natural winemaking independence.
- This wine is a co-fermentation of 80% red and 20% white grapes aged in subterranean clay amphorae.

## Food pairing

The light-to-medium body, vibrant acidity, and soft tannins of this natural co-fermented red make it exceptionally versatile. It complements savory, herb-forward Mediterranean dishes and cured meats without overpowering them, benefiting greatly from a light chill.

## Wine making process

Farmed organically and biodynamically, this cuvée is a unique co-fermentation of 80% red Carinyena and 20% white Garnatxa Blanca. Grapes are hand-harvested and spontaneously fermented with ambient native yeasts in traditional clay amphorae. The wine undergoes skin contact and aging in amphora before pressing and bottling completely unfined, unfiltered, and without any added sulfites.