The Pouya Estate
- Pouya is a woman-owned, woman-operated boutique production founded and run by Fernanda Parra.
- Fernanda is a Baja native who received her M.S. in enology, ampelology and viticulture after attending university in Montpellier, France. She started her wine career working at the lab at Tenuta Rapitala in Sicily and then worked as a cellar intern at Domaine La Criox Montjoie in Burgundy. Eventually she returned to Mexico work with Camillo Magoni as assistant winemaker at the Magoni Estate. Pouya is her personal project, and it reflects the culmination of years of training and hard work combined with the desire to participate in the expression of her heritage and love for Baja's terroir. The name Pouya is an homage to her great grandfather, a French scientist that fell in love with Baja.
- Pouya makes natural wines with no additions or corrections. They do not undergo filtration or stabilization. Only minimum sulfites are added at bottling - 30 ppm.
- Fernanda sources her grapes mainly from two old vine vineyard sites in Valle de Guadalupe, but she makes one-off wines from a number of additional small wineries. All are organically farmed and harvested by hand. Her two main grape sources are:
Bibayoff Estate - Planted in the 1950s by descendants of the Russian immigrants that were some of the first to establish vineyards in this region, these represent some of Valle's best Chenin Blanc plantings. One of the most emblematic vineyards of the region, the Bibayoff property lies at 1,100 ft, has soil composed to sand mixed with granite and clay marl, and is organically farmed. Perched on the valley’s northern wall, it has great access to water and contains some of the oldest vines in the region, many of which are dry farmed.
Olegario Sandoval Vineyards - Planted in the 1950s approximately 15 miles from the Pacific. The vines are old and gnarled in this dry farmed site that has the sandy soils that grows grapes with very little pigment in the skins. From this site Fernanda makes Grenache three ways: Methode Champenoise Sparkling, Rosé and Red (Tinto), to illustrate the diversity of potential of the grapes from this ancient vineyard.
Total Production: 800 cases, 6 - 8 wines (additional small batch wines made in some vintages)
2020 Petite Sirah - Pouya
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
Petite Sirah! Wow! This is a fun one! In a departure from her strict use of only stainless steel and flexi tanks for aging this VERY limited wine saw 12 months in 2nd use French Oak barrels and an additional 14 months in the bottle before release. A stunning brambly nose of dark rich fruits has an upper layer of tension is a harbinger of a wine, which, in the mouth delivers the full chorus of flavors from the base to the piccolo of an orchestration that’s unforgettable. A very rare grape to encounter as a varietal wine, unfortunately only 5 cases of this made it to the US.
Only one barrel (24 cases) made
Drinking window - upon release (please let it breathe slightly) - 10 years
Vintage:
2020
Blend:
100% Petite Sirah
Producer:
Pouya
Winemaker:
Fernanda Parra - Mexican, lives in Valle de Guadalupe
Vineyards:
Valle de Guadalupe – Ungrafted rootstock, 1,100 feet above sea level, planted in 2001. Soil is a sandy loam.
Winemaking:
Grapes are hand harvested then manually destemmed and crushed before a cold maceration of 48 hours. Fernanda used a sequential ferment on this barrel with spontaneous ferment lasting for 4 days before adding an organic certified yeast. Gentle punchdowns were performed 2 to 3 times a day to promote a soft extraction of color tannins and aroma. Once fermentation was complete, the juice was pressed and aged for 12 months in a 2nd use French oak barrel. Once bottled it was aged for an additional 14 months before release.
Sulfites: 30 ppm
Alcohol:
13.3%
Farming:
Organic, Sustainable
