The Solar Fortún Estate:
Founded: 2010 by the López family
Vineyard location, elevation and grape varieties:
- Valle de Guadalupe - 1,000 ft - estate vines - (Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Syrah). The site is dominated by sandy soils with a small amount of clay. Organically farmed.
Winemaker: Enologist Santiago López Viana (Mexican born, trained at UC Davis, lives in Valle de Guadalupe)
Region and grape source: All grapes are estate grown in Valle de Guadalupe approximately 18 miles from the Pacific. They currently have 18.5 acres under vine
- Solar Fortún is a family owned and operated winery that was officially established in 2010 and planted 3 years prior in 2007. Coming from a background in theoretical and natural physics, (both of Santiago's parents are professors of physics at the university in Ensenada), the plan for this estate was methodical and precise, with no consideration left unattended.
Notes:
- Fully sustainable, (and idyllic to the point of being completely transportive) the only non-renewable resource they use in their operation is the fuel that runs their tractor. As the harvests, and almost all the work in the vineyards is done by hand, it doesn't get used much!
- All grapes are estate grown in an organically farmed vineyard site approximately 15 miles from the Pacific in a part of the valley called Francisco Zarco. The confining walls are so tight at this point that they create more of a canyon than a valley. This creates a unique micro-climate where the temperature differential between the mountainsides and the valley floor generates a nearly constant breeze eliminating the risk of cluster rot or powdery mildew. This cooler climate also plays a role in the high natural acidity of these wines and their very prevalent floral components.
Total production: 18.5 acres under vine, 10 wines, 4,000 cases
2023 Aureo - Solar Fortún
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
Wow. For the first vintage of this wine, we could not have expected more, and bravo to the Solar Fortun team for having the vision to plant these varieties which have shown already in this first public release to be a fantastic pair with the climate and soils. Light one it’s feet, delightfully aromatic and displaying a vein of crisp acidity that keeps all the texture and mouthfeel aloft, this is a stunning example of what’s to come from this newly planted parcel. Planted on 2020, they experimented with some very small harvests before deciding the wine was ready for release in the 2023 vintage. The word Aureo refers to the golden color of the vineyard, the grapes and the wine but also to the fact that it will age very well. Drink it now or hold it, regardless you’re in for a treat.
200 cases made
Drinking window - Upon release - 5 years
Vintage:
2024
Blend:
60% Viognier, 40% Marsanne
Producer:
Solar Fortún
Winemaker:
Santiago Lopez - Mexican
Vineyards:
Valle de Guadalupe, ejido de Francisco Zarco - Estate vineyards in a tight valley with sandy soils of decomposed sandstone and some red clay. Vines were planted in 2007 and the elevation is 1,100 ft.
Winemaking:
Hand picked from organically farmed estate vineyards in Valle de Guadalupe. Fermented in stainless steel tanks for 2 weeks and then racked for aging. 70% of the wine went back into stainless steel and the remaining 30% was aged in Acacia barrels for 3 months. No corrections, light sulfites at bottling. Sulfites: 35 ppm
Farming:
Organic, sustainable
Alcohol:
12.5%
