Viñas del Tigre 'Zopilote' 2022

Viñas del Tigre 'Zopilote' 2022

Regular price

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%