Finca Antigua Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
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This 100% Estate Cabernet Sauvignon has depth and concentration with a deep garnet core and blue iridescence rim. Robust aromas of thyme, rosemary and fennel are due to the wild herbs that are interspersed throughout the vineyard as over 50 % is left intentionally unplanted to foster biodiversity. The backbone of acidity for this wine comes from the diurnal shift and cooling influence of the high elevation of almost 3,000 feet above sea level. 4 days of skin maceration along with a deliberately slow 28 day fermentation allow for both skin and oak tannin to provide structure and grip.
Recommended especially for medium-aged sheep and goat’s milk cheeses. With meat, it is best as an accompaniment to lamb and goat. It can also be matched with veal and beef. Ideal for stews, such as bean stew.
Finca Antigua was established in 2003 by brother-and-sister team Carlos and Pilar Martínez-Bujanda Irribarria, whose family has been making wine since 1889. The vision of Finca Antigua is to create a facility that balances wine styles with the latest technologies, while always respecting the family’s enduring, time-honored winemaking traditions. At sharp contrast with the fresh, bucolic landscape, stands a structure of steel, stone and cement housing the equipment used to transform Finca Antigua harvests into spectacular wines. The estate is located on a prime parcel of land between the provinces of Cuenca and Toledo in DO La Mancha. The high altitude, soil of loam and limestone, and climate fluctuations from hot days to cool nights endow the vineyard with optimal growing conditions. A number of indigenous and international varieties thrive in the soil, the majority being Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo; but Syrah, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay, Graciano, Viura, Gewurztraminer, and Moscatel are also grown. The vineyards are marked by a multitude of old vines for which the property is named. All Finca Antigua wines are estate-grown and bottled. Although the 21st century has brought modernization and automation to the winemaking process, the mission of the Familia Martínez-Bujanda has always remained true to the original intent of Joaquín Martínez-Bujanda from over a century ago: Control of the vineyards is essential to making complex wines. Each generation has sought to best utilize each location, taking into account the altitude, microclimate, soil and characteristics unique to each terroir, to create wines that capture its essence. They continue to nourish the vineyards with organic matter and employ modern and traditional winemaking techniques to produce the best-quality wine possible from each parcel.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
The Moors gave it the name, ‘Manxa,’ which fittingly means ‘parched earth.’ La Mancha, the largest Spanish wine producing region in all of Spain, is one of its hottest and driest. Sturdy and drought-resistant white varieietes like Airen, Viura and Verdejo thrive in this environment.