Mauricio did well at school and college and was all set to go to medical school to train to be a doctor until one day a group of viticulture students came to give a talk to his year group. Mauricio went home to tell his Mum... I'm going to be a winemaker! What a shock that must have been for proud Mrs Lorca. What a stroke of luck for us.
This was more than 20 years ago when winemaking wasn't such a reputable career as it has become these days. Mauricio got straight down to it and worked his way up the ladder with winemaking roles at Catena, Luigi Bosca and Finca La Celia, sometimes taking risky decisions in the vineyards in order to prove a point to dissenting voices around him who were less open to change than he, and to fine tune a style that he has pioneered in Mendoza - top class wines without any oak ageing.
Mauricio's high density, high altitude vineyards are in his beloved Vista Flores in the Uco Valley; and his ever expanding, though still relatively small, winery is situated in Lujan de Cuyo. It's a no-frills operation with the energy and solid work ethic of every employee channelled into getting the job done.
There's an honesty about the place that comes across in the wines, which range from the cracking, clean as a whistle Fantasia range of inexpensive single varietals right up to the dizzy heights of Lorca Inspirado, one of the best super-premium blends.
Mauricio Lorca's talents as a top consultant are very much in demand throughout Argentina, but not quite fully content with a glittering winemaking career at home, Mauricio Lorca decided to spread his talented wings just a few years ago to start making wines in Spain.
Mauricio is a fanatical mountain biker and some years ago he cycled the famous Camino de Santiago de Compostela. It was then that he discovered the spectacular vineyards of Ribeira Sacra in Galicia, with its viciously steep slopes and irresistible old, native vines.
When Mauricio’s new neighbours in Spain met him and asked what he was up to there was much head scratching and a fair bit of bemusement. When they tasted the purity and freshness of his Spanish wines – new champions of these fabulous old varietals – they were stunned and seriously impressed.
Mauricio now has two sites in Spain, two small vineyards in Ribeira Sacra (very old vine native varietals including Mencia Tintá, Merenzao and Sousón, set on very steep slopes) and one vineyard in Castilla y León (high altitude vines at 1,000m in a semi-arid climate with stony/limestone soils and native varietals including Prieto Picudo, Albarín and Godello).
