Merlot

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Juan Carlos Vizcarra is a man of intensity, passion, and incredible ambition. Though his family has grown grapes in northern DO Ribera del Duero for more than four generations, he was the first to make estate-bottled wine from this fruit starting in 1991. The story goes that when he was a boy, he noticed that the historic estates of Vega Sicilia and Pesquera would come to his family in bad vintages to buy fruit. Realizing that his family must have truly special vineyards of the highest quality, Juan Carlos took it upon himself to begin producing wines to express this blessed terroir and heritage.

WHAT MAKES THIS WINE UNIQUE?

Merlot coming from vineyards in Ribera del Duero makes this wine a one of a kind!

RATING HISTORY:

2019 93WE, 93TAtkin; 2016 91 WA; 2016 90 WS

GRAPE:

100% Merlot. These are 20 year-old vines located at 840m (2,755 ft.) of altitude. Only 1450 bottles produced.

VINIFICATION AND AGING:

Destemming before fermentation. Maceration lasts 16 days in open tank with crushing twice a day. The wine ages for 24 months in new and one-year-old, 225-liter French oak barrels.

LOCATION, SOIL, CLIMATE:

Vineyards are located in the town of Mambrilla de Castrejón, Ribera del Duero DO, at 849 meters (2,785 ft.) elevation. The topsoil is composed of clay and limestone and the subsoil is gravel. To offset an undesirably high rate of vegetative growth, Juan Carlos reduces yields by thinning grape clusters from 20 to 8 per vine and by allowing other wild herbs to flourish around the vines. This helps maximize the intensity and concentration of the grapes. From its higher altitude, Ribera del Duero's northern central area has a cooler climate than either Toro or Rueda. An extreme Continental climate, with cool nights and hot days with moderately low rainfall, provides a longer ripening period, and results in wines with greater complexity and more expressive, intense aromas.

TASTING NOTES:

Lovely picota cherry and plum jam aroma leading onto a silky smooth lush palate with soft tannins coating nicely and a pronounced lengthy finish.

ALCOHOL CONTENT:

14.5%

UPC CODE:

8437019718831

BOTTLE WEIGHT:

1.7 lbs (.79 kg)