Casa Lebai

The brothers Asier and Rodrigo Calvo produce authentic terroir wines from single vineyard sites in the Ribera del Duero, which skillfully express their origins in the Burgos region. 

Casa Lebai is a new project by brothers Rodrigo and Asier Calvo, the youngest generation of the Calvo winemaking family, who run the Bodegas Arrocal. It is located in Gumiel de Mercado in the DO Ribera del Duero. Under the name Casa Lebai, just 4,600 bottles of authentic and terroir-based wines from three individual vineyards are bottled with the aim of preserving the heritage of viticulture in Gumiel de Mercado.

Tempranillo from unique vineyards

When Asier returned after working in Oregon and completing his oenology degree in 2015, he and Rodrigo took over the technical management of the Arrocal family winery. They began with a comprehensive study of the vineyards and classified them according to clones, zones, soils and orientation. This “zonification” is intended to better express the typicality of each site. Three plots were finally selected for Casa Lebai on the basis of their age, soil composition and type of vinification. In the “Matadiablos” vineyard, almost 30-year-old Tempranillo vines are cultivated on 2.61 hectares. The “La Nava” vineyard, with vines over 80 years old, is only 0.36 hectares in size and is home to the white Albillo Mayor variety as well as a small proportion of other indigenous varieties (Valenciano Blanco, Moscatel, Palomino Fino and Pirules). The third parcel, “El Portillo”, covers an area of 1.46 hectares and is located in La Nava at 829 meters above sea level. It is home to Tempranillo bush vines planted in 1936 as well as some Garnacha and Bobal. 2019 was the first vintage bottled by Casa Lebai.

Modernization and tradition in harmony

The wines of Casa Lebai were first vinified in the family-owned winery of Bodegas Arrocal, which was equipped with state-of-the-art technology in 2003. In 2025, the company will move to a historic cellar with old presses from the 13th to 14th century in the center of Gumiel de Mercado. By restoring the cellar and using traditional winemaking methods, the brothers are able to combine tradition and modernity even more closely. Their aim is to uphold the legacy of previous generations and produce authentic quality wines that reflect the terroir of the Burgos region.

“To imagine the future, we must first look to the past.”

Rodrigo Calvo, Casa Lebai

casalebai.com