Liskar

Liskar is the project of Frank Smulders, the first Dutch Master of Wine (since 1992) and internationally renowned Spain expert. He started Liskar in 2019, with the idea of ​​preserving very old Garnacha vineyards in the coolest part of Navarra and converting their great potential into the best possible red and rosé wines.

The vineyards of Liskar are located around the town of Liédena, in the far northeast of Navarra. The mostly snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees are visible to the naked eye, and provide a fresh downwind, the ‘cierzo’, which cools the vineyards on hot summer days, especially at night. The harvest therefore usually does not take place until the second half of October, which is very late for Spain.

The crown jewel of the vineyards is a 0.5 hectare plot planted in 1900 in which, unique for Navarra, 8 grape varieties were planted at the time – in addition to Garnacha – including the ancient white Castellana Blanca. The first wine from this plot was produced in 2020. For the red Liskar, 3 plots were chosen, planted in 1904 and 1930. For the rosado, a plot from 1950. Due to the cold cierzo, the wines have a lot of fresh acids, and they are deliberately harvested at full ripeness. This allows the full flavor potential of the grapes to be achieved and utilized, but the balance between alcohol and acids remains excellent. The wines are vinified in the small village cooperative ‘San Francisco Javier’ in Liédena. The red wines are of course aged in wood, but only used barrels of the very best French oak are used for this, purchased from friendly top winemakers in France and Austria.

The wines are all closed with a Stelvin (screw cap), which is the only possible choice for Frank: this is the only way to eliminate problems with TCA, loss of fruit in the wine and differences in bottle development.