EL VENENO, PEPE MENDOZA
ORIGIN: Spain
APPELATION: El Veneno, Alto Vinalopó
VARIETY/BLEND: 100% Monastrell
CLIMA: Mediterranean
SOIL: Sandy loam, with lots of calcareous caliche stone.
ALTITUDE: 650m a.s.l.
FERMENTATION: The 10-kilo boxes are ground in small 1,000-kilo vats and ferment spontaneously with 30% raspa.
AGEING: 12 months in new and one-year-old French Allier oak barrels
WINE DESCRIPTION
Notes of rosemary, thyme, sage, rockrose, scrubland, holm oak and Mediterranean pines.
ABOUT PRODUCER
One of the most respected winemakers in southeast Spain, Pepe Mendoza started his carrier at his family's winery Enrique Mendoza. They were among the first to plant Syrah and other international varieties in the region to make high quality reds, but they gradually returned to work with local grapes, specially Monastrell. His latest project is Casa Agrícola, a very personal project launched alongside his wife Pepa Agulló.