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
2022 Viña en Rosa - Solar Fortún
Tasting Notes and Drinking Window:
This wine has been a subject of personal fascination since we first discovered it several years ago, and the way that winemaker Santiago Lopez is constantly pushing the limits of his understanding has assured that the wine has been very different vintage to vintage. On account of talent, and perhaps a touch of luck, this “difference, has always been tilted in the direction of progress. Those who have tried this wine in the past and enjoyed it will appreciate the added depth to the freshness on the nose which comes across as many things, but they all seem to resolve into the essence of a watermelon Jolly Rancher. In the mouth, a broad and silky mid-palate of tropical fruits moves across your tongue within the structure of just a touch of tannin, a textural component that provides a unique and delightful dimension to the wine. Lingering notes of lemon rind and citrus fruits round out the experience of what is clearly the best effort yet from this already well-established star of the Valle.
500 Cases made
Drinking window - Upon release - 3 years (but ideally as soon as possible!)
Vintage:
2022
Blend:
100% Mourvedre
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:
Pulled off the skins after 8 hours of contact, then fermented for 2 weeks and aged in stainless steel tanks.
Sulfites: 30 ppmFarming:
Organic, sustainable
Alcohol:
11.8%
