The destemmed and uncrushed grapes to produce Garnacha “Baltasar Vinas Viejas” Bodegas San Alejandro were fermented with selected yeasts. Maceration lasted for one month, during which alternating pigeages and delicate pump overs took place to carefully extract colour, flavour and structure. Garnacha “Baltasar Vinas Viejas” Bodegas San Alejandro was aged for 12 months in French foudres and 50 hectolitre vats, to impart balanced oak flavours while conserving the Garnacha aromatics.
The grapes come from a selection of plots with old Garnacha vines that are over 60 years old, which produce low yields of concentrated fruit. The vineyards are located in the hills of the Sierra Santa Cruz where the soils are quartzite and slate, which offer heat retaining properties during the cooler nights of this hilly location. The vines are goblet trained bush vines, which are dry farmed and are cultivated following sustainable philosophies, such as using limited amounts of sulphur for fungus control. The grapes are manually harvested at optimal ripeness.
Bodegas San Alejandro is a leading Garnacha specialist based in the heart of the Calatayud appellation in Aragon, Northern Spain. The cooperative was founded in 1962 and today it has 150 growers, with 1,200 plots covering 950 hectares of vineyard. Garnacha has adapted to suit the extreme natural conditions of the area; the vineyards are situated at elevations of up to 1,100 metres, with contrasting hot days and cool nights. The elevation provides good air circulation, promoting vineyard health which has enabled the vines to be traditionally cultivated in a very natural way and with limited use of treatments. From 2019, Bodegas San Alejandro is converting to organic status.
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