Founded at the end of the 1980s, Nekeas was the brainchild of Francisco San Martín, a wine professional who had been involved in the creation of Príncipe de Viana. He managed to bring together eight families from the Nekeas valley, in the Valdizarbe sub-area of Navarra, to set up a cooperative. From the outset, Nekeas has distinguished itself for its sound management and its focus on export markets (70% of its wine is currently sold abroad). At the time, the DO was experiencing a wine boom, led by the expertise of Evena (the Navarra Viticulture and Oenology Research Centre) and extensive new plantings.
In just two years, Nekeas planted 150 hectares and presented its first releases in the 1993 vintage. Today they grow 250 hectares, which covers all their needs. Around one million bottles are produced and olive oil is also part of the business. Winemaker Concha Vecino has been in charge of the wines since the beginning. She emphasises the singularity of this northern area, where vineyards grow at some 700 metres elevation.
Nekeas is well established on the international market thanks to its US importer, Jorge Ordóñez. It was Ordóñez who suggested the idea of an old-vine Garnacha and contributed to the success of El Chaparral de Vega Sindoa (50,000 bottles, €13, first vintage 1997). The grapes come from around 40 plots of goblet-trained vines, which survived the rural-urban migration of the 1960s and the switch to less demanding crops such as cereal. The Vega Sindoa brand was developed specifically for the North American markets, where the name Nekeas was often perceived as being of Greek origin.
After such a good reception, the winery planted more Garnacha in the early 2000s. The commercial clones used this time did not reflect the character of the area, so the vines were replanted with the estate's own plant material. These vines, which are now around 20 years old, are destined to produce Cepa x Cepa (40,000 bottles, €7), an excellent introduction to the freshness of Garnacha grown in Valdizarbe and one of the best value for money wines in the appellation.
Garnacha accounts for 30% of the vineyards in Nekeas. Tempranillo, which was dominant until recently, is also well represented, along with Cabernet and Merlot. According to Concha Vecino, French grape varieties have been present in the past, thanks to the trading that took place along the Way of St James, -evidence of this are the 100-year-old Cabernet vines found in the vineyards. Cabernet, she argues, is as well adapted to the area as Garnacha. Her latest experiment is Garnacha Blanca, and she is also considering Oneca, an ancestral white variety recovered by Evena and recently authorised in the DO.
The white range includes a young blend of Viura and Chardonnay, the single-varietal Chardonnay Cuvée Allier (€11 in Spain), fermented and aged in oak barrels, and the interesting, vibrant 25 Vendimias Garnacha Blanca (€14).
The white range includes a young blend of Viura and Chardonnay, the single-varietal Chardonnay Cuvée Allier (€11 in Spain), fermented and aged in oak barrels, and the interesting, vibrant 25 Vendimias Garnacha Blanca (€14).
The entry-level red is a blend of Tempranillo and Merlot, whereas El Camino de Nekeas (€8) is a blend of Garnacha, Syrah and Tempranillo, aged for three months in oak. A notch above is Los Olivos de Nekeas (€12 in Spain), a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet and Merlot, aged in barrels for 15 to 18 months.
