Jordi Miro Terra Alta Ennak+

Jordi Miro’s passion for wine started at an early age. As a child, he worked in his family’s vineyards alongside his father, Miguel Miro. There he learned to prune, plow, cultivate, and harvest. The family has been growing grapes in the region for generations - Jordi’s maternal grandfather had his own small winery, while his paternal grandfather, Jaume, was a renowned grafter in the region and an expert cultivator.

After having worked most of his life for other wineries, Jordi planted his own 5 Ha (12.5 acres) of vineyards in 1999. They lie within the Terres de l’Ebre Biosphere Reserve and last year they were approved as being respectful of the Biosphere Reserve. The soils are calcareous and poor in organic matter. The vineyard is organically farmed with no irrigation and no chemicals are used (pesticides, fertilizer, additives, etc). The only fertilizer is an occasional spreading of composted vine cuttings and grass from the vineyard. The vines are cultivated in classic trellis style, with 9 feet between the rows and 3.5 feet between each plant, for a total of 2500 vines per Ha. The grapes are hand harvested and the average yield in the vineyard is 3 lbs per vine.

In 2009, Jordi began to construct his own small winery. He built it himself, brick by brick during his free time. Today, Jordi experiments to create innovative new wines and styles. Traditionally in Terra Alta, whites and reds were produced by the skin contact maceration process. Jordi's wines combine traditional methods with a modern touch. He employs spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, uses no winemaking additives and the wines are very minimally fined or filtered. Sulfite levels are below 65 mg/L. The result is wines that are fresh and silky in the mouth.

Jordi still uses the lessons he learned from his father, doing all the work himself. He prunes, plows, thins the vines, harvests, ferments, rakes, cleans the vats and bottles the wine. Harvest starts with the first light of the day and is done by hand, into small cases. Jordi’s philosophy is to do as much as possible in the vineyard to create the wine there, and then vinify with minimal intervention.

VARIETALS: 35% Syrah, 33% Garnacha, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Tempranillo, 5% Merlot - but check the bottle's label, as it’s usually more accurately listed there.

WINEMAKER: Jordi Miró

FARMING PRACTICES: Organically grown, dry farmed and hand harvested

HARVEST: From September 19 until October 14th

WINEMAKING: Tempranillo and Merlot are cold soaked together for 5 days with regular remontage. Alcoholic fermentation finished without skins, to avoid extracting bitter tannins. The Garnacha and Syrah are harvested together at about 70% of phenolic ripeness, looking for freshness. Whole cluster fermentation. The Cabernet Sauvignon is harvested at peak phenolic ripeness and fermented with skins with twice daily remontage to get good structure from the ripe tannins. All fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts. Lightly clarified and filtered. Sulfites ≤65mg/L.

AGING: 12 months in French oak barrels. 225L barrels used for Cabernet Sauvignon. 300L barrels used for Merlot, Tempranillo, Garnacha and Syrah.

PRODUCTION: 330 cs

TastingNotesDeep red. Lively and focused berry and citrus aromas with notes of mineral and spice. The palate is lithe and precise, displaying bitter cherry and red berry flavors that mellow in the glass. Finishes with silky, gripping tannins, good persistence and lingering lavender and bitter chocolate notes.