The Santos Brujos Estate
- Founded: 2008 by Sergio Salgado and family
- Region and grape source: All grapes for their wines are sourced from their estate owned organic and biodynamic certified (CCOF/Demeter) vineyards in Valle de Guadalupe.
- Vineyard specifics: Vines were planted in 2008 in soils of decomposed granite and clay at an elevation 900 ft approximately 8 miles from the Pacific. While most of the vineyards are planted in a standard slope and prevailing wind based orientation, a portion of their vineyards are planted in a Fibonacci spiral.
- Notes:
- Santos Brujos is one of the few wineries in the region that has taken the steps to become certified organic and biodynamic. Certified by the CCOF, USDA and Demeter, they are perhaps more dedicated to this approach than any other estates in the region thus far. Even the name "Santos Brujos", which translates to "Saintly Witches" makes reference to the practice prescribed by Rudolf Steiner, (the founder of Biodynamic farming) by which the amendments to the soil and plants are prepared and stirred at length by hand in large cauldrons.
- All of the wines are made in a “natural” style with native yeast fermentation, no additives or corrections at any point during the process. Minimal sulfites are added at bottling for stability.
- The philosophy of Santos Brujos is to learn from the land - to nurture and respect it in every process. In their wines they seek to exalt the freshness of the fruit in combination with the elegance of the tertiary aromas provided by the French oak.
Annual production: 4 wines, 2,200 cases
2016 Tempranillo (MAGNUM) - Santos Brujos
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
This is the first vintage where Luis was the winemaker, and he took over the operation after the fruit had already been harvested so it's really a collaboration with Renaldo who filled the roll before him. We just received a handful of these magnums as library releases direct from the winery and have to say everything we thought about this vintage from the start has come to pass: structured and wild upon release it would round out and find grace and elegance with age. With plenty of time ahead of it, (it could easily age another 10 to 15 years) it's starting to show what the estate is capable of. If possible, get a few of these so you can open them over time and witness firsthand one of the early iterations of what will certainly become one of reference estates of Mexico.
20 magnum cases made
Drinking window: upon release - 20 years
Vintage:
2016
Blend:
100% Tempranillo
Producer:
Santos Brujos
Winemaker:
Luis Pecina Garcia - Spanish born, lives in Mexico
Vineyards:
Valle de Guadalupe - Estate vineyards, located in the center of the valley approximately 8 miles from the Pacific at an elevation of 900 ft. Soils are a sandy clay marl.
Winemaking:
Wine is fermented on native yeasts in French oak barrels, racked and aged in new French oak for 12 months. Bottled unfiltered.
Sulfites: 13 ppm
Farming:
Biodynamic, organic, sustainable
Alcohol:
13.5%
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