From the atlas
Bodegas Alejandro
An Alicante bodega working with Monastrell, Merseguera and Chardonnay, with Arbui V.47 built around a high altitude La Solana plot.
At A Glance
| Field | Detail |
| Region | Alicante, Valencia, Spain |
| Appellation | Alicante |
| Site | La Solana plot in Manyà |
| Main grapes | Monastrell for reds, Merseguera for whites, Chardonnay in blends |
| Flagship bottling | Arbui V.47 |
| Defining feature | Traditional goblet trained Monastrell at high altitude |
The Producer
Bodegas Alejandro works in Alicante with indigenous Monastrell and Merseguera, alongside Chardonnay blends. The Arbui range contains a standard bottling and Arbui V.47, made from the La Solana plot in Manyà. Arbui V.47 is the flagship wine in the range.
Place
La Solana is a plot in Manyà, Alicante, and it supplies Arbui V.47. The wine carries the Alicante appellation, pairing a named plot with the wider regional name.
Monastrell is used for the reds, while Merseguera supplies the whites and Chardonnay enters in blends, giving the Alicante range both a local white variety and a blended white style.
Soil And Site
La Solana sits at 600 metres in a Mediterranean mountain climate. High altitude contributes depth to Arbui V.47, while the mountain setting gives Monastrell cooler nights during ripening.
Traditional goblet training means the vines grow as low, freestanding bushes rather than along wires.
Story
Bodegas Alejandro, founded by Alejandro Pérez Martínez, identified the oldest Monastrell vines on La Solana, trained in the traditional goblet form, as worthy of separate bottling. The bodega made a practical decision: those vines were producing distinct fruit quality, setting them apart from younger parcels. It maintains two distinct tiers of Arbui: one from La Solana's vines more than 47 years old, one from separate parcels with vines 35 years or older. Arbui V.47 is produced at 5,000 bottles per vintage.
Vineyards And Cellar
Arbui V.47 is hand harvested during the first days of autumn, when the grapes reach optimal ripeness. Fermentation takes place in small open top vats with native yeasts. The process is gravity fed, moving the must through the cellar without pumping and reducing mechanical handling.
Malolactic fermentation occurs in barrels before the wine spends 20 months in new French oak. Malolactic changes sharper malic acid into softer lactic acid, while French oak provides wood spice and slow oxygen exchange during ageing.
Wines
The Arbui range has two red positions. Standard Arbui is 100% Monastrell, aged 15 months in French oak plus 9 months in bottle. Arbui V.47 is the separate La Solana bottling. Alongside these red wines, Merseguera supplies the whites and Chardonnay appears in blends.
In The Glass
Arbui V.47 is cherry red, with vibrant mixed berry flavours that balance bold tannins. In the mouth the wine is full bodied, with firm ripe tannin from the old vine fruit and acidity preserved by the altitude's cool nights. The finish is long.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with Arbui V.47. It is the 100% Monastrell bottling from La Solana in Manyà, made from vines more than 47 years old and trained in the traditional goblet form. The standard Arbui comes from separate parcels and has a shorter oak programme, while V.47 keeps one named plot, one grape variety and one old vine tier in one bottle.
Anecdote
In 1982, Alejandro Pérez Martínez founded Bodegas Alejandro, a bodega born from love for the land. The Pérez family line spans four generations in Alicante's Mediterranean terroir. The bodega's red wines use Monastrell, its white wines use Merseguera, and Chardonnay appears in blends. Arbui V.47 is the La Solana bottling from Manyà, made from 100% Monastrell grown on traditional goblet trained vines more than 47 years old at 600 metres in a Mediterranean mountain climate with the Alicante appellation.
Final Word
Bodegas Alejandro pairs Monastrell reds with Merseguera whites and Chardonnay blends. Arbui V.47 is a separate Alicante bottling of traditional goblet trained Monastrell from La Solana in Manyà.
Sources
- https://bodegasalejandro.com/
- https://yianniswinery.com/products/bodegas-alejandro-arbui-v-47-2018-750ml
- https://alicantedelicatessen.com/en/product/arbui-v47-monastrell-20-months/
- https://alicantedelicatessen.com/en/product/arbui-15-months/