3 Miradas Paraje de Río Frío

D.O. Montilla-Moriles

Sierra de Montilla, the Grand Cru of Montilla-Moriles, south of Córdoba, Spain

100% Pedro Ximénez

Paraje del Río Frío Alto

1960

Old bush-trained vines, farmed completely sustainably without organic certificaiton, but avoiding all use of harmful fungicides, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and irrigation.

Albariza. A soil composed mostly of limestone and soft maristone. Poor in organic matter, of a simple mineral composition, and a crumbly consistency. This is a material that is capable of retaining water in an area that rains less than 600L per year, and for its drainage, which prevents them from accumulating water and salts.

Semi-Continental Mediterranean. Extremely high temperatures and irregular rainfall from year to year.

The 3 Miradas project, which began as a collaboration between Bodegas Alvear & Envínate, represents a goal of the Alvear family to express the terroir which has historically been known as the Sierra de Montilla de Calidad Superior through a winemaking approach that expresses the vineyard site instead of masking it with the ageing process typical of the classic vinos generosos of the area. 3 Miradas Paraje de Rio Frió 3er. Año, a grand cru style wine in the Burgundy classification, is sourced from one of the family's oldest parcels in the Sierra. The grapes are whole cluster pressed without skin contact or maceration and ferments in tinajas, traditional concrete amphora of 4,800L.

The wine is aged in tinaja for eight months under the velo de flor, at which point it is racked into 2nd Criadera Fino casks and aged on used Fino lees for two years before being bottled fined and unfiltered.