Dominio de las Abejas Estate
Founded in 2015 by Mauricio Ruiz and family
- Winemaker: Mauricio Ruiz (Mexican born, lives part time in Ensenada and part time in Australia where he runs two other organic biodynamic natural wineries
- Winery location: Valle de Ojos Negros, Baja California
- Region and grape source: Las Abejas is a concept winery that was started based on choosing the best possible piece of land for growing grapes in anticipation of climate change. Their search alighted on a piece of land in the high elevation Valle de Ojos Negros in Baja California, located just south and slightly inland from Valle de Guadalupe. Priority was placed on organic certification since the beginning, and the vineyards are certified organic by the CCOF. All grapes in their wines come from estate vineyards.
- Vineyard location, elevation and grape varieties: The las Abejas vineyard is located in a very unique section of Valle de Ojos Negros that was once a marsh, (when the water table was much higher than it is now). The marsh was a resource for untold generations of migratory waterfowl all of which left deposits that enriched the soil. The marsh was gone long before they purchased the land, but the signature of this period is left in the rich and unique composition of the soil which has far more organic content than the surrounding area. At 2,200 ft in elevation, the main challenge of growing grapes here is the threat of frost during the growing season. They grow 10 grape varieties: Nebbiolo, Grenache, Nero D' Avola, Cinsault, Carignan, Chardonnay, Marsanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard, and Zinfandel.
- Other Notes:
The wines of las Abejas are made naturally. Ambient yeast fermentation, no corrections or additions, no filtration or fining and only a 30 ppm sulfite addition at bottling. This absolute gem of an estate is one of only a handful of organic certified vineyards in Mexico making 100% natural wine that is clean and precise, showing no faults of any kind. Their creations are at the top level of natural wines worldwide.
Total Production: 4 wines 3,400 cases
2022 Naranja - Dominio de las Abejas
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
All of the wines in the lineup from Dominio de Las Abejas are best summed up by a single word “delicious”, as their balance of fruit, tannin, texture, and persistence all seems to perfectly tweak the pleasure dial to 11.
This is a “skin contact” white wine, which means it is a white wine made like a red (with (juice was left in contact with the skins during fermentation). The consequence of this is color (orange rather than yellow like most white wine) and a completely different body than your typical white wine. Here you have the textures, complexity and even some of the structural elements you are accustomed to finding in a red wine, but it the envelope of grace and elegance of a bright and weightless white wine. As good as it is it’s going to be almost impossible to find given the small production and high demand for this style. If you manage to find some, go for it.
2022 is the first year these wines have been imported into the US and we anticipate that they will quickly become a reference for what Mexico is producing in the vein of natural wine.
350 cases made
Drinking window: Upon release - 4 years
Vintage:
2022
Blend:
32% Sauvignon Blanc, 28% Marsanne, 20% Chardonnay, 20% Colombard
Producer:
Dominio de las Abejas
Winemaker:
Mauricio Raiz - Mexican
Vineyards:
Valle de Ojos Negros - Estate vineyards planted in 2015 at an elevation of 2,200 ft in a unique section of the valley that was once a marsh. Vineyards are certified organic by the CCOF.
Winemaking:
Another field blend from Las Abejas, this is a compilation of all their white grapes, but made into an amber (skin contact white) wine. All grapes were picked on the same day and co-fermented on native yeast for a period of a period of 20 days at the lowest temperature possible in order to manage the tannin coming from the skin contact. Like all the rest of the wines from Las Abejas, this was bottled without filtration or fining.
Sulfites: 30 ppm
Farming:
Organic, sustainable
Alcohol:
13.3%
