Muchada-Léclapart

Description Muchada-Léclapart

When a "cult" winemaker from Champagne, David Léclapart, enters in a partnership with an Andalusian winemaker, Alejandro Muchada, who thinks out of the box, the result is sheer magic. They produce dry white wines out of the Palomino grape, the traditional variety for Sherry - somewhat neglected for other types of wine. Even us, we have been swept off our feet when we tasted their wines for the first time. They showed a quality and a complexity that we were not expecting. Original, very Atlantic in style, and very mineral too.

Regions of Muchada-Léclapart

Andalucía

Appellations of Muchada-Léclapart

Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Winemaker David Léclapart

Owner Alejandro Muchada, David Léclapart

Founding 2016

Links

History Muchada-Léclapart

Born in Cadix, Alejandro Muchada studied architecture. But in 2011, he set on a journey with his backpack and landed in Champagne when the harvest was on. At that moment, he did not know anything about winemaking or biodynamics, but meeting David Léclapart, the Champagne wizard, would change everything: he gave Alejandro the wine-bug. Once Alejandro was back in his home in Sanlucar de Barrameda, near Jerez, he set out to produce sparkling wines from Palomino, with some friends. True, the calcareous soils of albariza do have a connection with the Champagne soils, but when David came to visit him, he noticed the influence of the Atlantic ocean on this particular terroir, and the two friends decided to focus on still white wines instead. Their first vintage was 2016, made out of carefully chosen parcels, biodynamically and without sulphur (although they don't like or use the term natural wine, often associated with faulty wines). They made their breakthrough with the 2017 and above all, the 2018 vintage. Their wines show an impressive purity, in an Atlantic style with a huge complexity in the glass.

Muchada-Léclapart
C. Dorantes 1
Sanlucar de Barrameda
Cadiz

Varieties Muchada-Léclapart

Palomino is the main grape here, naturally. Alejandro and David make a difference between their old Palomino vines (more than 50 years) and the other Californian clone they have in their younger vines (20 years old). In Chipiona, they also have some old Muscat vines which they use for their Elixir cuvée. None of their wines are aged under a yeast veil (or flor, as it is named here). They are not fortified either. So Alejandro and David make fruity, refined and pure Palomino, letting their terroir express itself.

Terroir Muchada-Léclapart

Today, the two partners own 3 hectares of vines, divided in three parcels. The first two are in Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the third in Chipiona. This is the Western part of Andalusia, under a direct influence of the Atlantic Ocean. Their largest parcel, La Platera, (1.7 ha) is located in the famous Pago Miraflores, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Half an hectare is planted with younger, California Palomino, and the rest with older, Spanish Palomino (60 years old). The soils are typical white limestone (albariza), 2 metres deep, with clay-limestone pebbles on the surface. Their second vine (0.7 ha), also in Pago Miraflores, is called Miraflores Alta. it is planted with 50 year-old (Spanish) Palomino, on albariza soils (2.5 meters deep). Last but not least, they own a parcel in Chipiona, in Pago Abulagar (Camino del Puerto). It is planted with old Muscat vines (more than 40 years old), on poor sandy soils with some veins of clay.

Vinification Muchada-Léclapart

Alejandro and David work biodynamically and with as little intervention as possible, as naturally as possible, even if they don't like the term 'natural wine' because it is sometimes associated with faulty wines. They aim to produce wines that are as pure, as genuine as possible, but without any fault. The moment of harvesting is a crucial decision for the level of maturity of the grapes depends on it. After these grapes are brought to the cellar, often in the morning to avoid the heat, they are pressed in a Champagne press, very smoothly, for some 4 hours. The most is then moved as little as possible, for it would affect the quality. No enzymes or yeast are added, and only 10% of the normal dose of sulphur. Then the wine is kept on its lees for some 9 to 10 months, in old Bordeaux barrels. No stainless steel tank is used. The Univers+ cuvée is aged in a steel tank with a ceramic coating.

75 cl.

96 James Suckling

Biodynamic

Élixir 2022

Andalucía

Muchada-Léclapart

Sanlúcar de Barrameda

75 cl.

white

47,17 € /pc

38,98 € excl. VAT

Assembly

Moscatel (100%)

Content

75 cl.

Year

2022

Description

The Elixir cuvée is the perfect symbiosis between two terroirs: the poor sandy soils of Chipiona and the limestones of Sanlucar. This is a quite aromatic wine, but also full of complexity and very long on the palate.

75 cl.

Biodynamic

Élixir 2024

Andalucía

Muchada-Léclapart

Sanlúcar de Barrameda

75 cl.

white

47,37 € /pc

39,15 € excl. VAT

Assembly

Moscatel (100%)

Content

75 cl.

Year

2024

Description

75 cl.

Biodynamic

Lumière 2024

Andalucía

Muchada-Léclapart

Sanlúcar de Barrameda

75 cl.

white

58,26 € /pc

48,15 € excl. VAT

Assembly

Palomino

Content

75 cl.

Year

2024

Description

The Lumière cuvée is made with the grapes of the estate’s best terroirs (La Platera, in Pago de Miraflores) and the oldest Palomino vines (60 years old). Here can one really get to feel all the complexity and minerality of Palomino. How come we had to wait for so long before we realised that this grape which produces magnificent sherry can also offer white, non-fortified wines with such a nice saltiness?

150 cl. (Magnum)

95 R. Parker

Biodynamic