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 Mourvedre - Solar Fortún
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
Building on the structure and balance of the 2022, this new vintage introduces a thoughtful shift in the blend, with 10% Syrah incorporated alongside Mourvèdre. A colder, wetter growing season slowed ripening and preserved remarkable aromatic intensity, resulting in a wine that opens with lifted notes of violet, cracked pepper, and wild herbs layered over red and black berries.
The Mourvèdre, harvested at lower sugars, shows vibrant energy and freshness, with slightly lower alcohol amplifying its savory and floral nuances. The addition of Syrah brings the fruit further into focus — deepening the core with ripe plum and blackberry — while lending a firmer tannic frame and subtle spice.
The result is a wine of heightened aromatics, bright natural tension, and a more structured finish, balancing freshness with depth and polish.
208 cases made
Drinking window - Upon release - 8 years
Vintage:
2023
Blend:
90% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah
Producer:
Solar Fortun
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:
Harvested by hand (Syrah on September 15th and Mourvèdre on Oct 17th) almost a full month later than the previous vintage. Fermented in stainless steel tanks for 2 weeks and then racked to French oak barrels and aged for 12 months. Minimal filtration, and 35 ppm sulfites at bottling.
Farming:
Organic, sustainable
Alcohol:
13.6%
