The Mina Penélope Estate
Founded: 2014 by Verónica Santiago and Nathaniel Malagón
Region and grape source: Wines are primarily made from organically grown estate vineyards tucked into a tight fold on the valley wall of Valle de Guadalupe. They source from additional select vineyards as needed from vintage to vintage. All are organically maintained.
Winemaker: Verónica Santiago (Mexican born, studied agriculture at University of Monterrey)
Vineyard elevations and grape origins:
- Valle de Guadalupe - 1,000 ft - (Nebbiolo, Mourvedre, Montepulciano, Aglianico, Syrah, Grenache, and Sauvignon Blanc). Decomposed granite and clay soils.
Notes:
- Production is minuscule; everything is done by hand by a husband and wife team who are the definition of the passion one finds in the small growers of the region.
- Vineyard site is 15 years old and Nathaniel Malagon who tends the vineyards comes from one of the oldest grape growing families in Valle de Guadalupe.
- Winemaker Veronica Santiago is one of the most well-respected winemakers in the valley and her pallet has shown itself in blind tastings to be one of the best. The wines she and Nathaniel are making are at once elegant, informed, and remarkably rustic old world in style. These wines follow closely the natural wine making style championed in the Loire and Saone valleys and emulate closely the body compositions and flavor profiles of the wines made in this area with minimal intervention.
Total production: 9 wines, 1,300 cases
2023 Amber - Mina Penélope
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
While showing all the black tea and stone fruit components on the nose for which this wine has become known, in this vintage they have been imbued with the textural essence of cashmere. The edgy tannins of previous vintages were left behind in this vintage and gave way to a much more polished and balanced mouthfeel. One of the most seductive and elegant amber wines you’ll find anywhere, this vintage fully satisfies the Mina Penelope legacy.
200 cases made (45 allocated to the US)
Drinking Window: upon release – 4 years
Vintage:
2023
Blend:
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Producer:
Mina Penélope
Winemaker:
Veronica Santiago - Mexican
Vineyards:
3 small privately owned vineyard sites in Valle de Guadalupe. 50% came from Nathan’s family ranch “Malgon Vineyard” at the northern end of Valle de Guadalupe in the ejido of Francisco Zarco, 45% from the Pasini Vineyard, and 5% from their estate vines. While Nathan oversees the vineyard management for his family’s ranch and coordinates intimately with the manager of the Pasini estate, there is nothing like the terroir of the Santiago ranch. All three sites are around 950 feet in elevation and only the Santiago ranch has much granite and clay, the other two being largely sandy. All are organically farmed.
Winemaking:
Grapes were harvested between the 16th and 25th of August, destemmed and fermented in open top tanks with skins and seeds for 13 days at at low temperatures, (52 and 66 degrees Fahrenheit). After this time the wine was aged in stainless steel tanks for 3 months and stirred lightly every 15 days to soften the tannins and round out the mouthfeel. The biggest difference in this vintage was a more gentle approach in the movement of the wine when punching down or pumping over. Veronica is finding that the wine essentially absorbs the approach unto which it is administered.
Sulfites: 34 ppmFarming:
organic, sustainable
Alcohol:
11.2%
