The Monte Xanic Estate
- Monte Xanic is heralded as the first boutique winery in Mexico, established in 1988. The story goes that this move, (and Monte Xanic's subsequent success) played a major role in starting a trend towards grape farmers making wine from their own grapes rather than raising grapes for sale.
- With a large quantity of land under vine in all the major wine growing valleys of the region, they are by far the most prolific of the boutique wineries in the region.
- Their vineyard sites are farmed sustainably, and their winery operates as a model of modern ecofriendly design.
- The estate weds advanced technology with old world wisdom, such as harvesting all their white grapes by hand at night in order to maintain maximum freshness and acidity.
- The "X" in Xanic is pronounced like a "sh", so Xanic sounds like "shan-eek". Xanic is the name of the white flower that is one of the first to bloom in spring in Valle de Guadalupe. When the spring rains are just right, the mountainside behind the winery is cloaked in their blooms.
Total production: 18 wines, 100,000 cases
2022 Calixa Chardonnay - Monte Xanic
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
Well, what can one say about the advances this estate is making? They are most certainly setting the bar for the larger estates in Mexico and as part of a comprehensive revamp of their aesthetic, their wines have made major leaps in this year’s releases as well. Once a “comfort” wine that was built in a rounded, accessible and entry style, the 2021 brings the Calixa line into the Majors. Sharper angularity, more clarity of voice on the nose and in the mouth, this wine is a clear indication of where the estate is going. Bravo.