Miguel Merino: La Loma Miguel Merino 2017

Weingut über: La Loma Miguel Merino

-- Weingut: «La Loma» (1,4 hectares) was planted in 1946. It is in the south west of the municipality of Briones, at an altitude of 534 metres above sea level. It was planted in the traditional “vaso” (bush) fashion on a slope facing east, as steep as 7%, with a planting grid of 1’50 by 1’80 metres, which means some 3.650 vines per hectare. The soil is quite poor, mainly calcareous with a gravel substratum, idoneous for good drainage, making the roots go very deep to assimilate the minerals in the soil. This type of soil will produce fresh, subtle and elegant wines. There is also an iron and clayey loam going through the subsoil of «La Loma» which gives the wine good body and a tannic character. Three varieties were planted in «La Loma»: the White Garnacha Blanca (that we have used for our Miguel Merino Blanco), and the red Garnacha Tinta and Tempranillo, which were grafted into Rupestris de Lot rootstocks, very appropriate for the soil’s characteristics and most compatible with the Garnacha vines. The 2017 vintage will always be remembered for the dramatic frost that devastated the vineyards of Rioja Alta and Alavesa. We picked 3.700 kgs., which means a yield of de 2.650 kgs/ha. Cold maceration for 3 days before starting the fermentation, which took place in a small stainless steel tank at controlled temperature. During the whole process our aim was to respect the subtle personality of this vineyard. After its fermentation, the wine was transferred into 2 barrels of 500 litres and 7 barrels of 225, all made from french oak, where malolactic fermentation developed spontaneouly. Altogether the wine reposed for 15 months in barrel.