The Cieli Estate
- Established in 2012, Ron is a one-man-show. While he doesn't own his own grapes, his oversight of the rows he sources from is very hands-on, and he vinifies everything personally.
- All wines, (except Dolchezza Seco) are aged for 12 months in either 1st or second use American oak barrels.
- Since he insists on having the highest level of attention to detail in the wines he makes and in using only the best grapes, his production is limited to what he can make himself. - He gets his grapes from three sources:
- A few select rows of 20-year-old vineyard sites near the valley floor of Valle de Guadalupe.
- Vines in a low elevation vineyard in Valle de San Vicente very close to the Pacific.
- 75 + year old vines in a vineyard at 3,500ft in Ojos Negros - organically farmed.
Total production: 6 wines, 750 cases
2017 Vintner's Select - Bodegas Cieli
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
The only time Cieli has made a monovarietal Merlot. This wine was made with a very long window of skin contact and extended low temperature fermentation. Profound notes of leather, barnyard, cherry, plum and chocolate and dried herbs all wrapped in the general feeling you get from opening the door to your grandfather's pristine maintained Cadillac. Get read for the ride...
Only 50 cases made
Drinking window: Now - 7 years
Vintage:
2017
Blend:
100% Merlot
Producer:
Bodegas Cieli
Winemaker:
Don Cieli - American by birth. Now a Mexican citizen.
Vineyards:
Valle de Guadalupe (25 year old vines) - Deep red clay with some decomposed sandstone.
Winemaking:
Fermented for 10 days on the skins and seeds in stainless steel tanks and then left to soak with the skins and seeds for an additional month once being moved to the barrel. All barrels composed of American oak 1st use.
Sulfites: 35 ppm
Farming:
Organic, sustainable
Alcohol:
13.9%
