Grapes: 100% Garnacha Tintorera
Vintage: 2010
Color: Red
The Garnacha Tintorera for this wine is harvested from the highest altitude vineyards of the wineries holdings from vineyards 1100 meters or higher. These vineyards show exclusively chalky soils. The vineyards are dry-farmed and trained in the traditional, vaso, vase-like manner.
Vines are between 20 and 50 years old.
Grapes are picked when just ripe, not over-ripe, so as to present the best character of primary fruit. Maceration and fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts, first at low temperatures with dry ice to extract color and grape aromas and finally at a relatively cool 70ยบ F, to preserve those aromas. There is no attempt to extract additional tannin or color from the skins as it is not desired for this style of wine. Once alcoholic fermentation is over the grapes are drained and pressed prior to racking back to the stainless steel tanks for malolactic fermentation. The wine is clarified and lightly filtered prior to bottling to assure stability.
The Altitude 1100 (100% Garnacha Tintorera) refers to the elevation of the vineyards, the highest owned by the estate, with vine age ranging from 20-50 years. It displays greater richness and concentration than the regular bottling, delivers loads of mouth-filling fruit, and is meant for drinking over the next 5 years.
These are terrific values from Bodegas Santa Quiteria, located in the up-and-coming DO of Almansa (just inside the border of La Mancha) where Garnacha Tintorera (aka Alicante Bouschet) is beginning to discover its voice. Issue 195, June 2011
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
88
Glass-staining ruby. Pungent, high-pitched aromas of raspberry, blood orange, cherry pit and white pepper, plus an exotic floral nuance. Then silky and perfumed in the mouth, combining dark fruit depth with red fruit energy. Shows good clarity on the taut, aromatic finish. Issue 158, Sept/Oct 2011
