Viñas del Tigre 'Zopilote' 2022
The Viñas del Tigre Estate 2022 Zopilote - Viñas del Tigre - Founded in 2006 by the Quesada Lucero
family this is one of the gems of the world
of wine. They produce very small batch
wines and distilled spirits that are so
unique to be like painting with new colors
on the palate. The winery is now run and
farmed by winemaker Aldo Lucero.
- The winery and their vineyards are
located in Valle del Tigre approximately 2
miles from the Pacific Ocean. All red
grapes are sourced from their estate
vineyards. The Colombard grapes for their
Burro Choyero are sourced from an
organic dry farmed vineyard with 80 + year
old vines that lies on the southwestern end
of Valle de Guadalupe in the Ejido of San
Antonio de las Minas.
- Vineyard elevations and grape origins:
Valle del Tigre – Estate vineyards planted
in 2006 at an elevation of 850 ft -
(Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, Merlot, Malbec,
Mission, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet
Franc, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin
Blanc, Muscato). This is a winery unto
itself in a valley that runs almost parallel to
the Pacific, lying just beyond the first
ridgeline that separates the land from the
ocean. Soil is a combination of clay, sand and river rocks and a substantial amount of organic matter. The tenderness and wholeness with which Aldo tends to this estate cannot be condensed into words on a screen but suffice it to say that if there is a spiritual version of farming, this is it.
Valle de Guadalupe – A forgotten parcel of the Magoni Ranch planted in the 1940s at an elevation of 1150 ft. (Colombard) This vineyard was essentially abandoned before Aldo started tending to it in 2019. Forlorn and wild, this parcel is dry farmed and organic by default. Soil is a combination of clay and granite.
- When asked to summarize the ethos of his estate Aldo says, “Love, respect and care for the environment that drives a constant seeking for sustainability and dictates that their production will always remain small without the use of chemicals of any kind.
- A farmer by trade Aldo considers his principal task to care and nurture the soil, stating that it is the soil that takes care of the plant – as long as you care for the soil, the plant will be taken care of.
- Aldo is the kind of person in whom there is no fine line between everyday living and a “spiritual” life and everything he does is imbued with a consciousness of the global intentions he has in mind. He believes this has an enormous effect on everything from the compost he makes on site to the way the fermentations progress in his wines and when you taste what he creates it’s hard not to admit they seem imbued with an energy unlike almost anything you’ve ever tasted before. Regardless, of the source of this difference, while the wines from this estate will never be easy to find, experiencing them will always be a gift.
Total production: 3 wines, 330 cases
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
Zopilote is the wine from Viñas del Tigre that changes completely from vintage to vintage. It’s winemaker Aldo Queresa’s label which he uses to take advantage of whatever unique situation the vintage produces without being beholden to the more consistent and somewhat rigid approach he takes with his other wines. In 2022, opportunity manifested in the offer of grapes from two organically farmed vineyards in Valle de Guadalupe that he hadn’t worked with before but which he immediately fell in love with. Both were planted in 2005 so the vines are still in their adolescent phase, producing fruit of a wild and delightfully rambunctious quality. While you’ve probably not tasted anything like this before, you may recognize the spice notes from the Tempranillo, and the herbal, slightly smokey notes from the Listan Negro. Always a stunning snapshot of the vintage this iteration of Zopilote is destined to turn some heads.
75 cases made (25 allocated to the US)
Drinking Window: upon release – 8 years
Vintage:
2022
Blend:
64% Tempranillo, 35% Listan Negro (Mission)
Producer:
Vinos del Tigre
Winemaker:
Aldo C. Quesada Lucero - Mexican
Vineyards:
Tempranillo –Valle de Guadalupe Granite soil and based on regenerative agriculture
Listan Negro – Valle de Guadalupe – very small vineyard site of less than an acre with soils of clay and granite.
Winemaking:
Harvested in late September by hand in small lots to prevent bruising. Each grape was fermented separately, with the Tempranillo fermenting in neutral French oak and the Listan in stainless steel. Primary fermentation was quite quick (10 days) after which the wines were left to carry out additional settling (including malolactic fermentation) over the course of the next 10 months before bottling.
Like all wines from Vinos del Tigre, the fermentation was carried out with native yeast, never received corrections of any kind, was not fined or filtered, and never saw sulfites at any point in the process.
Sulfites: No sulfites added
Farming:
organic, sustainable
Alcohol:
12.8%