The Viñedos de la Reina Estate
- Founded in 2006 by the Curiel family, this is one of the only wineries which specializes in wine made exclusively from Valle de San Vicente. All wines are made from estate grown grapes, picked and sorted by hand.
- The winery name, which translates to “Vineyards of the Queen” was meant to honor the wife of the head of the founding family.
- With a broad and deep experience in wine, the Curiel family started this project with the intention of showing that Mexico could make wines with the kind of profound structure and balance required for a wine to age gracefully. True to their intentions, these are some of Mexico’s finest wines given time in the cellar and they reward those who have the patience to allow them to age.
- Originally from Chile, winemaker Hector Leonardo Villaseñor Neira now lives in Valle de Guadalupe. His background is in making wines with an organic and biodynamic focus.
- Their vineyards lie adjacent to the Pacific in Valle de San Vicente and range in elevation from 300 to 800 ft and were planted from 2005 onward. It has a privileged climate and formidable rocky soils on the slope of a hill facing the sea. All vineyards are sustainably farmed with an emphasis on minimal use of resources.
Total production: 100 acres under vine, 10 wines, 9,000 cases
2022 Duquesa Tempranillo - Viñedos de la Reina
What to Expect and Drinking Window:
Since all the varietal wines from this estate are quite focused on being able to age with profound grace, the “Duquesa” line was envisioned as a way to provide consumers with something to sip on while they wait for the rest of the line up to properly mature. A red that never sees oak of any kind and undergoes a very gentle process of movement during fermentation to manage the expression of tannin, this is a bright and expressive fruit forward wine that will devour you with its freshness and approachability. Open this literally any time, as it will go well in all weather and virtually all situations.
617 cases made
Drinking Window: Upon release - 10 years
Vintage:
2022
Blend:
100% Tempranillo
Producer:
Vinedos de la Reina
Winemaker:
Hector Leonardo Villaseñor Neira - Chilean, now lives in Mexico
Vineyards:
Valle de San Vicente - Estate vineyards with sandy soils high in mineral content on the slope of a hill that faces the sea. The 21 acre plot with the Tempranillo is at an elevation of 820 feet and was planted in 2020.
Winemaking:
After a long harvest to pick and sort for the best grapes, the clusters were destemmed and pressed and left to ferment in stainless steel tanks for a long low temperature period of 20 days. After fermentation was complete the wine was racked into a stainless steel tank to settle for a period of 9 months before bottling. At bottling a light filtration and 40 ppm of sulfites were applied for stability.
Farming:
Sustainable
Alcohol:
13.6%
