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PRESENTATION OF BODEGAS VICENTE MALUMBRES

 

Bodegas Vicente Malumbres is a family business located in Corella in the south of Navarra, about 90 Km from Pamplona.

Don Vicente Malumbres was the founder of the Bodega in 1940. In 1986 his younger sons joined the bodega and it moved away from bulk-sale wines. The family refurbished the bodega in 1986 with the aim of making high quality and began bottling during that year.

Bodegas Vicente Malumbres is a specialist bodega, not producing in large quantities nor making lower-range wines. Quality comes before yield. Our aim is optimal solutions always. Malumbres makes a differentiated product based on the Garnacha which is the most traditional variety in Navarra.

The motto of Bodegas Vicente Malumbres is: “the best is yet to come”. The objective of Bodegas Vicente Malumbres is to obtain the maximum expression or potential from their vineyards and now they are in a position to get it thanks to their experience during the last 15 years that they have made the vinification of each of their vineyards separately. 

 

Their wines are made principally from their own vineyards which give continuity of quality throughout the vintages. The company owns 75 hectares of prime vineyards, which are mainly planted with Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo, Viura and Chardonnay. Some of our vineyards were planted from 1940 to 1960 from which we make Malumbres Primeros Viñedos. Most of our vineyards, let us say 80%, were planted from 1970 to 1980.

The yields are at an average of 25 hectos per hectare from 1990 to 2002 thus providing top quality grapes The own production is supplemented by grapes purchased from suppliers with whom the bodega has been associated for years. Malumbres maintain that “the key to a good wine is first the vineyard and afterwards the vinification in the winery

All Malumbres Wines are at least 80% Spanish grapes with the aim to keeping the local/Spanish character. The use of a maximum 20% foreign grapes allow us to improve our own Wines but it does not change the character. When some years ago the trend in our area was to move to foreign grapes, our decision was to concentrate on the local grapes and naturally by using other grapes as a complement. We can say that Malumbres Wines are very particular within Navarra because of their fineness, complexity and elegance. And such a style is due to the Garnacha character and to our particular/unique vineyards. Garnacha in our area at small yields has a big potential. Tim Atkin and Patricia Langton have praised our Garnacha. 

 

Bodegas Vicente Malumbres treats the environment with the greatest possible care and uses minimum quantities of mineral fertilizer in its vineyards and instead of it organic matter in the form of mature sheep manure is periodically applied. The aim is that vines’ roots delve down and reach deep layers to seek out and take all the resources that soils contain.

Herbicides are used once a year only in December-January for the control of the persistent weeds which is not possible to eliminate by the regular weeding/hoeing by cultivator. We can guarantee that there is no risk that our Wines carry residues resulting from chemical herbicide spray treatments. We use sulphur for fungicidal disease control which s authorized by organic agriculture.

We use insecticides only if control through the techniques of sexual confusion with feronomas is not sufficient.
It is important to control vegetation of the vines with two objectives: firstly, aeration and the sunshine of bunches and secondly, to help phytosanitary prevention. The result is good ripening and  that grapes are healthy and free of any residues.  

According to Javier Malumbres, their wines are the result of combining modern technology and experience with much attention to detail.

The bodega is headed by Javier Malumbres who is also responsible for commercial matters while his sister Maria Socorro is a trained oenologist. Vicente Jesus coordinates the production.

Exports of Bodegas Vicente Malumbres account for 80% of the Bodega’s turnover.