Scala Dei Prior 2018

After deciding which vineyards would be allocated to this wine, the bunches, previously selected in the vineyards, entered the winery in small 16kg cases. All the grapes were then meticulously inspected by the winery staff as they passed through the vibrating sorting table installed in the winery entrance. After destemming and crushing they were fermented at a regulated temperature to preserve all their ripe fruity aromas. They were then aged in barrels (80% French and 20% American oak) for one year. This aging then continued for one more year in bottles to ensure that the wine would come out to market at its optimum consumption time. The vine stock is 15 to 25 years old, planted on terraces, and our winegrowing practices are geared to yielding grapes with the characteristics of the wine we want. We thus seek grapes with high acidity, with concentrated fresh fruitiness, not overripe and with lively yet ripe tannins. Clarity and brilliance. Deep intense ruby red with garnet and bluish hues on the rim. Intense lingering aromas of red and black fruit, wild strawberries, blackberries, violet floral nuances underlain with supple spiciness and toasty notes. This wine has body, finesse, a silky mouthfeel with ripe elegant tannins which are enhanced by the mineral aromas from the licorella soil. We recommend you decant or serve the wine prior to drinking.

The vine stock is 15 to 25 years old, planted on terraces, and our wine growing practices are geared to yielding grapes with the characteristics of the wine we want. We thus seek grapes with high acidity, with concentrated fresh fruitiness, not overripe and with lively yet ripe tannins.

The 2017 vintage was quite unusual: we had never started and finished harvest as early as that year. After a typical Mediterranean winter (dry and not very cold) without any significant snowfall, we began to fear the onset of drought, which finally occurred. Some light spring rains partially offset soil water shortage but they were far from sufficient to ensure sufficient reserves to deal with the summer we were expecting. Finding ourselves in the worst of possible scenarios, we began to pick the Garnatxa just in time to avoid the alarms, and the grapes arrived, not only in an impeccable condition, but in greater quantities than the previous year. In fact, the grapes for this wine proved to be in extraordinary condition on the sorting table, as can be perceived in the wine.

After deciding which vineyards would be allocated to this wine, the bunches, previously selected in the vineyards, entered the winery in small 16 kg cases. All the grapes were then meticulously inspected by the winery staff as they passed through the vibrating sorting table installed in the winery entrance. After de-stemming and crushing they were fermented at a regulated temperature to preserve all their ripe fruity aromas. They were then aged in barrels (80% French and 20% American oak) for one year. This ageing then continued for one more year in bottles to ensure that the wine would come out to market at its optimum consumption time.