The Santo Tomás Estate
- Founded: 1888 by Francisco Adonegui and Miguel Olmart
- Region and grape source: The winery owns most of the land in Valle de Santo Tomàs, (including the 150+ year old vines of the Único vineyard) as well as 20 hectares of land in the hamlet of San Antonio de las Minas in Valle de Guadalupe.
- Vineyard elevations and grape origins:
- Valle de Guadalupe - Estate vineyards 900 ft (granite and clay soils)
- Valle de Santo Tomás - Estate vineyards 500 ft (variable. High on the slopes it’s mainly granite composed of large granite stones while down in the valley it's sandy soils high in iron and other minerals.
- Winemaker: Cristina Pino (Spanish born, now a Mexican citizen, lives in Valle de Guadalupe)
- Notes:
- Cristina Pino is one of the most highly respected winemakers in the region and a perfect example of the many strong women that are a primary driving force behind the quality and elegance dominating the wines coming out of the region.
- Santo Tomás is the oldest winery in the Baja region. Jesuit missionaries first established vineyards, (now privately held) in 1791 in this valley, just 5 years after the US signed its Constitution. Over a century later, in 1888 the land was purchased by Francisco Adonegui and Spaniard Miguel Olmart and became Mexico's first large scale commercial winery.
- The largest landowners in the 5 valleys of northern Baja, Santo Tomás has access to some of the best fruit available. The quality and balance of their wines is a signature of the estate.
- Since Christina took over in 2019 she has been covering to lower yields, increased quality, and working towards fully organic farming.
Total production: 22 wines, 130,000 cases
2021 Unico - Santo Tomás
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
Marked by a hot, dry season that sharply reduced yields, this vintage continues the tradition of grace and elegance in a large, structured style. Only the most perfect fruit made it into the bottle, resulting in a wine of remarkable concentration and depth. Rich and voluptuous on the palate, the refined tannins make it approachable now while signaling its potential for many years of development in the cellar.”
900 cases made
Drinking window: Upon release - 20 years
Vintage:
2021
Blend:
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot
Producer:
Santo Tomás
Winemaker:
Christina Pino - Spanish, lives in Mexico
Vineyards:
Valle de Santo Tomas - Unico comes from the estate's oldest vines, many of which are over 100 years old. The soil is primarily decomposed sandstone and red clay mix.
Winemaking:
Harvested by hand from the vintage vines of the estate, destemmed, crushed and then fermented in 1st use French oak barrels. Once fermentation was complete the wine was racked off the skins and aged for 18 months in 1st use French oak.
Sulfites: 45 PPM
Farming:
Sustainable
Alcohol:
13.8%
