Growing Conditions
A cold winter included episodes of below-freezing temperatures in July and August. The average temperature was 6°C.
Spring was temperate with a median temperature of 15°C. Budding began somewhat late --the second week of October-- due to the long winter. A rainy November translated into a considerable and favorable amount of soil water. Flowering began normally at the end of October.
Summer was warm, with an average high temperature of 34°C, and brought rains in January and February. A yield exceeding previous years led to exceptional quality, low alcohol, freshness, acidity and elegant tannins.
The onset of Autumn brought cooler days and cold nights, favoring the polyphenolic maturity of the grapes. The harvest was conducted in six stages, yielding grapes with excellent tannin and anthocyanin concentrations.
Vineyard Labours:
- Pruning, last week of July 2011.
- Shoot removal, last week of October 2011.
- Cluster thinning, to optimize balance in the plant, from January 13-18, 2012.
Harvest
Harvest by hand to 15-kg capacity plastic crates, from April 4-12, 2012, in six stages.
Yield: 6,000 kg per hectare
Bottling
Soft filtration with 5 µm polypropylene filters
Bottling date: 27 November 2013
Bottle aging: 12 months
Winemaking
Hand selection of clusters, destemming, and subsequent berry sorting by hand. Gentle roll crushing.
Five days cold maceration before fermentation at 7°C.
Alcohol fermentation in conical stainless steel tanks for 17-18 days, at a controlled temperature of 24-26°C. Three open pump-overs performed daily.
Select yeasts: Saccharomyces Cerevisae (Bayanus)
Post-fermentation maceration for 7-8 days. Racked directly to barrels. 100% natural malolactic fermentation.
Aging
18 months in medium toast level French Oak barrels (70% new, 30% used once).
Soft racking (four times) utilizing inert gases.
