Michelini i Mufatto - 2022 Bierzo, ‘En El Camino’
24+ in stock
GROWER OVERVIEW
Argentine winemakers Gerardo Michelini and Andrea Mufatto, with their son Manu, transplanted their family viticultural ethos—Libertad, Fineza, Naturaleza—to Bierzo in 2015, settling in a 19th-century rock winery in Toral de Merayo after encouragement from local luminaries Raúl Pérez and César Marqués. They farm very old vines (most over 100 years) organically/biodynamically on steep to very steep clay, slate, and quartz parcels, and vinify with foot-treading, native yeasts, and short macerations, aging in clay amphorae, old foudres, and neutral oak/chestnut. The range runs from a village wine to paraje bottlings and culminates in terroir-driven, textural wines that favor tension over weight and place over polish.
VINEYARD DETAILS
En El Camino is harvested from 95-year-old vines (2024) of 85% Mencía and a 15% mix of Palomino, Garnacha Tintorera, and other varieties planted in clay-loam soil derived from a topsoil of slate and quartz over slate bedrock, situated across various Bierzo vineyards at elevations of 500-550 meters, on medium steep slopes with diverse exposures.
CELLAR NOTES
En El Camino is naturally fermented with 15% whole bunches for 15 days in large vats without temperature control, with light cap wetting once daily. After pressing, it is aged 12 months in steel and French oak, with a light filtration at bottling. Sulfites are first introduced after ML and again at bottling.