The Symmetria Estate:
- Symmetria is the type of gem one always hopes to stumble upon. A husband and wife team with incredible talent, access to incredible vineyards, insatiable curiosity, high expectations, and wild dreams. Founded in 2015 by Mauricio and his wife Deniesse, the strength of these wines comes both from Mauricio's extensive background in oenology, as well as access to, and first pick of, some of the oldest remaining and most esteemed vineyard sites in Valle de Guadalupe. The principle source for their wines are vineyards originally planted by Russian immigrants in the early 1900's. Mauricio is the vineyard manager for these hallowed parcels and has, as part of his compensation, the right to have the first pick from the vineyards each vintage.
- 60% of the wines are made from their estate grapes.
- Their 'Syrah', a blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Malbec, is made in a 'natural' style. Fermented with native yeasts and minimal sulfites added.
- Their approach to wine making is to maintain a healthy environment for their vineyards, their family and their customers. To this end, they farm organic, make no corrections to pressed juice, and add compost to their soils annually from local sources constantly enriching the soils from which their grapes are derived.
- Symmetria works with 10 varieties of grapes derived from the following valleys:
Valle de Ojos Negros:
- Elevation: 2,200 ft
- Soil type: decomposed granite
- Vine age: 15 - 20 years
- Grape varieties: Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon
Valle de Guadalupe:
- Elevation: 1,100 ft
- Soil type: red clay/sandy loam
- Vine age: 50 - 80 years
- Grape varieties: Malbec, Chenin Blanc, French Colombard, Zinfandel, Grenache, Mission, Cabernet Franc, and Palomino
Total production: 6 wines, 400 cases
2016 Luminaria Blanc de Noir - Symmetria
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
Sparkling wine is really the forté of winemaker Mauricio Soler, a winemaker who cut his teeth making wine for the well-known champagne house Roederer for a number of years. HAving returned to his native Mexico, his intentions are clear: make the best sparkling in Mexico. To this end he doesn't cut corners, harvesting dry-farmed fruit, and riddling each bottle by hand for 4 years before disgorging. Finally, in 2019 the wine was deemed ready for release, and 10 cases were allocated to the US market. The result is a sparkling made in the methode champenoise that will show you smartly that Grenache is a very suitable grape for this technique. Pulled immediately away from the skins, it still retained a miniscule red pigment, which no doubt added to its remarkable complexity. Approachable now and for the next 15 years. NOTE: while he didnt indicate it on the bottle this wine is the result of the fruit from a single vineyard and a single vintage, (2015). There was no blending here. What's in the bottle tells the tale of sunlight, roots and water of a single trip of the earth around the sun.
Drinking window: Now - 15 years
Vintage:
2016
Blend:
100% Grenache
Producer:
Symmetria
Winemaker:
Mauricio J. Soler - Mexican
Vineyards:
Valle de Guadalupe - Vines are some of the oldest still in existance in the region. Vineyard is located on the northwest wall of the valley at an eleevation 1,000 ft and has soils of red clay/sandy loam. Average wine age is 50 - 80 years.
Winemaking:
Grapes were hand selected pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks over a period of 3 weeks. Once fermentation was complete the wine was bottled and capped with a small amount of unfermented juice added on top to generate a second fermentation in the bottle under pressure. The wine then aged for 4 years in the bottle during which time it was hand riddled once a week. After 4 years the wine was disgorged and a small dosage added. Just enough to make it a Brut wine.
Sulfites: 10 ppm
Farming:
Organic, dry farmed, sustainable
Alcohol:
11.5%
