Dominio de Es
La Mata
The location of La Mata is a grand cru which contains prephylloxera vines and is located in the area of Atauta villlage, Soria.
The 1904 record proves the existence of old vines in that setting.
La Mata valley (north-south) spreads out in a perpendicular way in the main valley in Atauta (west-east). We discover the convergence of these two valleys and also an area of pure chocolate clay in a 0.2 hectare area.
The vine is located in a setting exposed to the east, getting sunlight in the morning and at midday. Shade comes at 8.30 p.m. creating a cool microclimate, typical of the terroir which provides singularity to La Mata grand cru.
Vintage: 2019
Location: La Mata spot, Atauta, Soria, DO Ribera del Duero, 935 m altitude
Surface: 0.33 ha in a single plot
Vine: Pre-phylloxeric Tinto Fino, Albillo and Alicante Bouchet
Terroir: Sands, silt, calcareous rock over clay
Pruning: Goblet
Grape growing: Biodynamic
Orientation: East-North, low part of the slope
Harvest: 26 September.
Total kilos harvested : 935 kilos, 93.5 %Tinto fino, 5.5% Albillo, 1% Alicante Bouchet
Vinification: 100% destemming; 20 days for maceration. Temperature between 20 and 28 ºC.
Extraction: Bucket irrigation each day during the alcoholic fermentation (11 days)
Crianza: 2,5 barrels in total, 100% new
Alcohol content: 13.8% vol
Total acidity: 5
pH: 3.75
2019, vintages ending in 9…
As many of the vintages that end in number 9, 2019 is so far the best Dominio de Es vintage. Quite dry weather, two heatwaves and the vineyard which, despite these features, did not show any sign of stress. Today, it is hard to understand this situation. The abundant and generosity of rainfall in 2018 may have had something to do. The legacy of the weather in 2018 combined with the dry weather in 2019 has resulted in a great vintage.
We only had 266 liters of rainfall from 1 November 2018 to 30 April 2019: A dry winter. As every year, it snowed on 5 April. Sprouting was noted down on 30 April.
Despite the frosts on 4, 5 and 6 May, the vine kept growing at good pace with no difficulties. Spring frosts usually cause stress on the plants, making them re-sprout in an anarchic way not only concerning pruning but also in the whole grapevine. It wasn’t like that in 2019.
There is no record of a frost like the one we had in Atauta on 12 June. Luckily, it was located and affected only 10% of the vine. Soria and its climate keep surprising us…
Flowering happened on 25 June, coinciding with the first heatwave in 2019, which lasted around 15 days. Temperatures reached 40ºC.
The second heatwave spanned from 22 to 26 July. We only had 45 liters of rainfall from 1 May to 31 August. An extremely dry summer.
The rainfalls on 15, 16 and 17 September (31 liters), apart from 9 liters registered on 21 September helped the vines in their ripening process and allowed the grapes to achieve normal size standards and good quantity performance ( 70 cl per 1kilo of grapes, being 63 cl the average of Dominio de Es), despite the extremely hot summer.
These are the average grape weight:
2017: 1,78/grape 2018: 2,05 g/grape 2019: 1,90 g/grape
Undoubtedly, the spring frost ruined a vast part of the harvest and the performance for 2019 was only and average of 2750 Kilos/ha.
Vintage: 2018
Bottling: 15 July 2020
After the mapping of the 7 hectares of La Mata valley in 2002 in Atauta location, we find and classify 13 different types of soils. We also observe a brown clay stain inside these soils where we cultivate 0.2 hectares. This clay helps to ensure the water regulation of the plant all along the year.
The 1904 land register mentioned the presence of this ancient vine in this part of the valley mainly in Tinto Fino.
The vine is located in a setting exposed to the east, getting sunlight in the morning and at midday. In the afternoon, shade on the west hill creates a cool microclimate, typical of the terroir which provides singularity to La Mata grand cru.
The ancient vineyard provides consistency and uniformity to the wine and also the microclimate adds aromatic subtleness resulting in a silky and sensual finish on mouth.
Appellation: DO Ribera del Duero.
Varietal content: 90% Tinto Fino, 4% Albillo and 6% Alicante Bouschet
Harvest: 16 October 2018
Alcohol: 14,22%Vol.
pH/acidity: 3.65-4.8 g/L TH2
Residual sugar: inferior to 1.78 g/L
Vine Features
Surface: 0,20 ha.
Exposure: North-East with a moderate slope.
Terroir: Sand with clay over 40 cm and pure brown clay from above 40 cm below.
Ungrafted root stock vines of Tinto Fino, Albillo and Alicante Bouschet.
Wine making
Vinification: 100% destemmed.
Spontaneous alcoholic fermentation in 1500-liter open oak tank.
Macerations for 21 days with a very small daily delestage with O2 and one pipeage in the middle of the alcoholic fermentation.
Ageing: New 228-liter Bourguignonne barrels for 20 months.
Bottle production: 514 bottles and 21 Magnums.
Vintage as it was with well-defined seasons and generous rains
After the dry winters in 2016 and 2017, the winter in 2018 was generous in terms of rain at last!
Winter was long and cold. The first snow covered the whole north of Spain just before January 6. The last snows happened very late on 9 and 10 April. The typical winter in the Soria region is usually cold and very dry, in fact, the local people say that “the frost consume the water soil”. In 2018 the winter was cold and rainy with full of snow and also mists. These all ingredients were the ones to recover the water suppliers from the soil and the subsoil in the Soria fields!
In the middle of April the temperatures increased suddenly and provoked the sprouting which were registered on 27 April. Temperatures dropped to minus 3 oC on 1 and 13 May and destroyed the young and tender sprouts withtheir bunches. Luckily, the vines could effortless rebirth from the buds of the vine again.
The weather was still cold and rainy during May and June. As a consequence, the flowering of the vines was very late on 27 June and clearly giving way to “moon vintage”.
The mildew, a well-known disease in Bordeaux, Loire or Burgundy, appeared due to this great amount of rain. The last time mildew appeared was in Soria in 2006.
At the end of July, there were high temperatures from 35ºC to 39ºC. Consequently, there was a vegetative growth of the branches and we observed a dark green color on the leaves. However, in spite of the heat wave the vines did not suffer at all! The veraison had plenty of sunshine throughout August. Due to this late vegetation we had to improve the vine by removing lateral shoots in order to avoid a possible attack of botrytis.
A curious fact at the end of September: The vines had their typical red color on the leaves. That means the intention to mature at this time of the year. However, at the beginning of October I registered the disappearance of the red color and the return of the green color which predominates in June and is common during the vegetative cycle of the vine.
Another curious fact was the weight of the grapes. The average weight of the tinto fino grapes ranges from 2 to 2.2 grams. However, in 2018 the grapes were full of juicy pulp and their weight ranged from 2.7 to 3 grams as a consequence of the humidity.
Vinification
Harvest in 12 kilo boxes on October 13.
Grape variety: Tinto fino 100%.
Harvest: 33% whole bunches and 67% destemming.
Fermentation in open wooden tanks for 23 days.
Crianza: 14 months in new Burgundy barrels.
La Mata 2016 has a 3.73 pH, 4.41 gr acidity and 13.7 alcohol content.
The vintage 2016 in Dominio de Es
Dominio de Es was characterized by its quality and quantity, something which had not been seen in the last 17 years. Bertrand, who comes from the French Loire, remembers the great 70, 82, 90 and 2009 vintages in the neighboring country.
It was a special vintage here in every sense. Rose bushes sprouted at the end of January in a winter which seemed to vanish. Very little cold weather in November, January and February, which gave way to late heavy, persistent snow falls, shaped the vintage.
Sprouting started on April 29 and flowering came in the mid June. However, we had a cold, dry summer with no rain in which temperatures reached extreme figures (3ºC at night on August 12).
The rain did not come until mid September, but the vines were kept balanced and alive. Besides, they produced abundant and quality grapes in a natural and spontaneous way.