Rafa Cambra
Rafa Cambra is one of the reference winemakers of Valencian minimal-intervention wine. Trained in Burgundy and with years of experience in wineries across Europe, he returned to Valencian land to work native varieties with a philosophy of minimal intervention and respect for the territory. His plots in the Terres dels Alforins allow him to make wines that express Mediterranean identity without artifice: hand harvest, spontaneous fermentation and ageing without additives. Monastrell, Forcallada, Arcos: varieties that in his hands show a different face, far from the clichés of the area.
Rafa Cambra's vineyards are rooted in the Terres dels Alforins —at whose heart lies Fontanars dels Alforins. The plots are between 700 and 900 metres altitude, on soils of white clays and marls that give the wines an unusual structure and tension for Mediterranean varieties. The temperature range between day and night —up to 20 degrees in summer— lengthens ripening and preserves natural acidities. A combination Rafa uses to make Monastrell, Forcallada and Arcos with a freshness that breaks the clichés of the area.
- Hand harvest and grape selection in the vineyard
- Spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, no inoculation
- Ageing in used wood (500–700 L barrels) and 54 L demijohns
- No oenological additives, no added sulphites
- Bottled without fining, minimal or no filtration
- Priority work with native Valencian varieties: Monastrell, Forcallada, Arcos
Rafa Cambra builds his work on two convictions: that wine must speak of the place where it is born and that native Valencian varieties deserve a different expression from the one they have historically had. He has managed to combine technical rigour —trained in Burgundy, with years in European wineries— with the freedom of someone who knows his land deeply. Each wine is an argument in favour of the territory: from a single-plot Monastrell that breaks the clichés of the variety to a Forcallada that shows why this almost forgotten variety deserved to be rescued. One of the quiet references of natural wine in the Valencian Community.
Terres dels Alforins is the most dynamic wine-growing zone of the D.O. Valencia: altitudes of 700–900 metres above sea level, soils of white clays, marls and limestones, and thermal ranges of up to 20 degrees between day and night. These factors allow slow ripening and a preservation of natural acidity that is the key to its wines. Fontanars dels Alforins —in the heart of the zone— has in recent years become a pole of attraction for minimal-intervention producers seeking to express the territory without artifice. Turís, for its part, is a territory with centuries-old winemaking tradition, on the banks of the river Magro, with clay-loam soils that favour native white varieties. Together, these two territories define Rafa Cambra's map: the Valencian Community understood as a reservoir of authenticity yet to be explored.
The collection at Terroir Radical
Single plot in Fontanars dels Alforins, dry-farmed and organically grown. Whole-cluster fermentation and native yeasts. 10 months' ageing in a 500 L barrel. Very limited edition of 1,300 bottles. A project shared with Javi Revert and Manu Sanmiguel: one same origin —the L'Altet de Torró plot—, three different interpretations. Monastrell expressed at an altitude that changes the rules of the variety.
Bright cherry-red colour, clean and of medium depth. Very aromatic, floral nose: hints of violets and dried flowers, crunchy cherry aromas, pomegranate and a touch of blood orange. Mineral, stony, very fresh background. Tense, juicy palate with a linear finish, far from the classic warm or dense Monastrell. Fresh red fruit combined with a chalky, precise texture. Long, clean, very spicy finish with a subtle saline nuance.
La Forçalla d'Antònia takes its name from Forcallat, an almost vanished native Valencian red variety, and from Antònia, the person who gives the wine its name and soul. Made in the Terres dels Alforins, it is an expression of the genetic richness of Valencia's wine heritage: fruit, structure and a personality unlike any other wine in the area.
Very open cherry-red colour, clean and bright with purplish rims. Intense nose of fresh red fruit and forest fruits, with subtle floral notes, lactic hints and light balsamic and mineral nuances typical of the variety. Very fresh, fluid palate that is easy to drink. Lively, very well-integrated acidity that brings great tension. Silky, light tannins and a very elegant fruity finish. A light-coloured wine that surprises with its complexity.
100% Arco, a long-cycle red variety almost vanished from the west of the D.O. Valencia. 50-year-old vine on the L'Altet de Torró plot, at 680 metres altitude. Fermentation with native yeasts in a 2,000 L stainless-steel tank with 50% whole cluster and gentle pump-overs for 15 days at 26 °C. Ageing for 14 months in a 500 L French oak barrel (five years of use). 1,150 bottles. A resurrected variety, a wine that by itself justifies its rescue.
Bright cherry red with slight violet reflections. Nose marked by a prominent floral character, accompanied by intense aromas of ripe red fruit, Mediterranean herb nuances and subtle spicy notes from ageing. Balanced, tasty palate, with a very velvety texture, fine tannins and a fresh flow. Long, persistent fruity finish. Made with the recovered native variety Arco (or Miguel del Arco), singular to the Alforins.
Editorial note
Rafa Cambra is a name that has been appearing for years in conversations about Valencian wine. I met Rafa through a mutual friend, and I understood at once that behind the wines there is a person who works the territory with the same seriousness and honesty we demand of everything that enters TR. La Forçalla d'Antònia, Casa Sosegada, Casa Labor — each wine is an argument in favour of the territory and of native Valencian varieties. Inevitable.
— Terroir Radical