Stratum "Matas Altas" Jumilla, Spain 2021

FROM JOSÉ PASTOR:

THE WINE: 90% Monastrell, 10% Moravia Agria, Blanquilla, Garnacha, Forcallat, Rojal, Bobal and other local varieties that are coplanted in the same old vineyards as the Monastrell. From own-rooted vines around the town of Fuente-Álamo planted between 1911 and 1967. They range in elevation from about 840 to 940m and are planted on different sorts of calcareous gravels and sands that are rich in fossils and interspersed with green and white marl. The grapes were harvested by hand and 70% were destemmed. Fermented spontaneously in open-top wooden vats without temperature control; the juice macerates with the skins for the duration of fermentation (13-14 days). After fermentation, pressed by gravity to a mix of neutral foudres, vats, and barrels to complete malolactic conversion and rest for 12 months before bottling without fining or filtering

THE PRODUCER: Stratum Wines is a project from Bodega Cerrón in Jumilla, helmed by the fourth generation of the Cerdán family: siblings Carlos, Juanjo and Lucía. The family biodynamically farms about 30 hectares of high-altitude ungrafted vines, mostly Monastrell, on calcareous soils. Their farming was certified organic in 1989, and they count on receiving Biodynamic certification through Demeter in the coming months of 2022. There are abundant cover crops in the vines, they work extensively with animals, and champion biodiversity. In the cellar, they work in a low-intervention style, with only spontaneous fermentations with native yeasts and mostly without oak influence. Sulfur is used judiciously and only at bottling. The results of this careful work are well-balanced wines that express a sense of place, with bright minerality that complements the pristine fruit.