An unusually warm winter and fine weather brought with it one of the earliest bud breaks we can remember. Despite the fact that we had a complicated beginning of spring with a lot of rain, by the time of flowering the weather had changed, being excellent and obtaining an exceptional fruit set. We enjoyed a summer with above-normal temperatures and the lack of rainfall meant that the harvest was brought forward, with the harvest beginning on September 12. Despite a faster than expected ripening cycle, the balance between acidity and ripeness was excellent.The grapes entered the winery with perfect parameters for vinification, which was carried out without any incident.

De-stemmed clusters are kept in a container filled with carbon dioxide at 14ºC for the tiny golden late harvest berries to macerate before-fermentation. After a 12-hour maceration, the must is carefully pressed in bladder presses before it is stabilised statically for 36 hours at 10ºC in an inert environment. After, it is transferred to 500 litre casks of new French oak from the Allary Tonnellerie in France, where the must of cold fermented at 12ºC in a slow process that leads to a delicate balance of alcohol, sweetness and acidity. The larger barrel size also limits the influence of the oak and results in a better integrated wine.

* 100% Hondarribi Zerratia