VARIETALS
95% Tempranillo, 5% Moscatel de Alejandría
NOTES
VINEYARD: Matagallina, a single over 60-year-old estate-vineyard at 450m following the cycles of the biodynamic calendar, in the village of El Ciego in Rioja Alavesa. The vineyard is planted mostly to tempranillo, with a little co-planted moscatel de alejandría in sandy calcareous clay soil. It is farmed by hand, according to biodynamic practices and without the addition of synthetic inputs. Sulfur is not used in the vineyard nor in the production of the wine at any time.
VINIFICATION: After manual basket-harvesting in the early, cool temperatures of the morning, 75% of the grapes are carefully hand-destemmed, while the remaining clusters remain intact. Intracellular alcoholic fermentation begins spontaneously in a stainless steel vat by the native yeasts present on the grapes. After 36 hours, the grapes are then softly pressed by foot and transferred into traditional 500L clay tinajas de barro (amphora) for a spontaneous fermentation of approximately ten days without temperature control. After malolactic fermentation and following the biodynamic calendar to utilize the natural settling of the lees, Florus is bottled directly from tinaja without fining or filtration. Sulfur is not used at any time in the process.