Factor XPTO: Raúl Moreno – Bold Wines

My story begins training as a chef in my natal Spain, moving overseas before turning 18 to work in a high-profile restaurant in the UK. Forced to take a job in the floor in order to improve my English is how I landed into my first wine job. I worked as sommelier around the globe till my late 20s when I decided to change my life style and studied viticulture in my adopted home: Australia. Then I kind of became a ‘harvest junkie’ and spent several years working 3 to 4 harvest per year across Europe, South Africa & Australia. The places that inspired me the most were Bourgogne, South Africa, Portugal, Georgia & Australia.

I started to make wine in Jerez in 2017 in order to stay closer to my parents although I did not fully relocate with my own little family back to Andalusia till 2020.
I have two small vineyards in the Sherry district although I also lease several small plots from the different villages of the district such as: Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Puerto de Santa Maria, Trebujena & Jerez.

My approach to viticulture is to follow organic and biodynamic practices and to promote biodiversity. Soil fertility is the priority of all my operations.
I work mainly with old vineyards of ‘Massale selections’ of cultivars. I have two viticultural projects, one of them focused in the recovery of traditional Andalusian cultivars such as Jaen Blanco, Vigiriego, Mantuo Castellano, Melonera amongst others & another project focused in the grafting of Portuguese cultivars over old Palomino vineyards to mitigate climate change. The Portuguese cultivars I work mainly with are those with a lower hydric stress and greater acid retention such as Arinto, Encruzado & Baga. In the Sherry district I mainly work with Palomino, Moscatel & Tintilla de Rota although I also craft Chardonnay & Pinot Noir.

Furthermore, I got a winemaking project in Granja-Amareleja, Alentejo called ‘V’ sin Fronteiras in conjunction with Tiago Macena & David Morgado where we craft alternative expressions of ‘Vinho de Talha’ and we also make cross country wine blends of Alentejo & Jerez.

My approach to winemaking is minimalist but always striking for the best possible quality to be delivered on the glass. I am always aiming to deliver wines that are driven by freshness, fruit purity & terroir. All the wines I produced experience skin macerations, as little as 24 hours or as long as 3 months. All the wines are unfiltered and Sulphur additions are minimal.