Rafael Cambra

This wine is not a single-variety bottling: monastrell is half of it, and the other half is four Valencian grapes that all but disappeared — Arcos, Forcayat del Arco, Bonicaire and Rojal — forgotten varieties that are helping to give the wines of the area their historical identity back.

The winery was founded by Rafael Cambra in 2001 and in 2008 it moved to Fontanars dels Alforins, where he and Elena Arpón have their vines. The village is known as the Valencian Tuscany, and it sits above 600 metres.

They farm more than forty hectares organically and strictly unirrigated, with the vineyard set in a Mediterranean mosaic alongside olives, almonds and cereal. Besides the local varieties there are also cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc.

Casa Sosegada comes from 5.5 hectares in the lower part of the Sierra L'Ombria, at around 700 metres, facing north on stony, sandy soil.

It ages fourteen months in a concrete egg and is bottled without filtering or fining. There were 4,000 bottles.