Laureano Serres was living in Madrid, writing code, when he decided to come home. In 1996 he returned to Pinell de Brai, a small town in the Terra Alta region of southwestern Catalonia, and within three years he had vinified his first 500 liters from his grandfather's old vines. That first harvest, from 1999, gave birth to Mendall, and what began as a homecoming became a career that reshaped the conversation around natural wine in Spain.
Backstory
Serres bottled his debut wine in 1999 from the Finca Caibelles vineyard, a field blend with roots in his family's agricultural past. In 2002, he forgot to add sulfur dioxide. He liked what happened. Since 2003, no sulfur has been added to any Mendall wine. He later became president of Spain's natural wine association and the organizer of H2O Vegetal, one of Europe's most celebrated natural wine fairs, drawing growers and drinkers from across the continent to Terra Alta each year. His daughter Alicia now works alongside him.
The Region
Terra Alta sits in the far southwest of Catalonia, close to the Aragonese border, in a broad, elevated plateau roughly 400 meters above sea level. It is a dry, wind-swept landscape, with a Mediterranean climate moderated by altitude and distance from the coast. The region has long been known for robust, structured Garnatxa, but Serres helped reveal its capacity for complexity and freshness when farmed with care.
Vineyards and Farming
The estate covers approximately five hectares, now centered on the Terme de Guiu site in Vilalba dels Arcs since 2017, where vines grow in a limestone amphitheater at elevation. Serres has farmed biodynamically from the start, with yields around 20 hectoliters per hectare, working primarily with massale selections of white, grey, and red Garnatxa, old Carignane, Macabeo, and Malvasia de Sitges. Early experiments included Bordeaux varieties, since deprioritized in favor of indigenous grapes.
Winemaking
Mendall is among the most varied and experimental cellars in Spain. Serres has worked with carbonic maceration, amphora fermentation, vats, barrels, and extended skin contact, often making up to sixteen distinct cuvees from a single harvest. Fermentations are always wild. No sulfur. No filtration before bottling. The decisions are made vineyard by vineyard, year by year, with what Serres himself calls "organized anarchy."
The Wines
The range spans pressed whites, skin-macerated whites, red-and-white co-ferments, lightly sparkling frizzantes, and oxidative garnatxas aged in older oak. Standout labels include La Torre (a field blend red), Terme de Laureano (white), and Abeurador. Each bottle carries the fingerprint of a harvest moment, made by a grower who has spent more than two decades learning what this particular corner of Catalonia wants to say.
