TERRA ROSA 2015 Malbec Old Vines
Mendoza, Argentina
VINEYARD
Terra Rosa’s first vintage was 1997. The fruit for this wine is sourced from three vineyard sites – one in Lujan de Cuyo outside of Mendoza in the North and two vineyards in the Valle de Uco in the South at the foothills of the Andes. These vineyards are all at an elevation of more than 975 meters and have gravelly sand/loam soil over alluvial boulders. The vines are up to 100 years old and produce about 2.5 tons per acre.
CELLAR
The fruit is allowed to macerate for two to four days until natural fermentation begins (no yeast or SO2 ever added) in small, traditional epoxy-lined concrete fermenters. It is then pumped over through an oxidating screen. The fermented juice is then shipped in food grade containers up the cool Pacific, stored below the waterline to keep it cool and minimize rocking, to his winery in Graton, California for barrel aging. This reduces the carbon footprint, by not shipping the weight and bulk of cases and bottles, in addition to giving Patrick the ability to keep a closer eye on the aging process. Terra Rosa is aged for about 8 months in French and European oak barrels (about 10% new). Minimal fining with egg whites if necessary and then polish filtered.