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 Gran Ricardo Blanco - Monte Xanic
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
If luxury were to be a flavor this is how it would taste. A project years in the making, the white iteration of Gran Ricardo has finally been released. Made from a very select harvest of just the oldest vines of the Kristel vineyard (50+ years old), no expense was spared when making this top flight wine, and it shows in every aspect of its character. An extremely elegant nose followed up by a palate of sensual and flavor complexity wildly diverse yet supremely balanced form the basis of a wine that is a legend in its very first vintage. Enjoy this immediately if you like, but know it will evolve beautifully for 8 to 10 years from release. This is only the second release of this beauty and already they've shown more precision on execution.
Drinking window: Upon release - 8 years
Vintage:
2022
Blend:
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Producer:
Monte Xanic
Winemaker:
Oscar Gaona - Mexican, lives in Valle de Guadalupe
Vineyards:
Granite and clay mix
Aging:
Fermented and aged in carefully selected 1st use French oak barrels. Fermentation took just under 3 weeks and the wine was then aged in the same barrels for an additional 8 months.
Farming:
Sustainable
Alcohol:
13.6%
