Sapo de Otro Pozo
Sapo de Otro Pozo – literally a toad from another well; or a fish out of water. Do you feel like you don’t belong, or you just enjoy playing for the away team?
A blend of 60% Malbec (sourced from three different estates) 20% Syrah and 20% Cabernet Franc, both from their La Consulta vineyards. Each is manually harvested at different stages, obtaining profiles of the wines that are completely unique in each case.
The harvests are vinified separately in either concrete egg-shaped vats, 1000 litre oak barrels, micro-vinifcation in small containers and in 225 litre barrels. Fermentation is carried out with indigenous yeasts and at cellar temperature. The extraction processes are completed gently by pisage – treading the grape by foot. 50% of the wine is matured for 14 months in first use French oak barrels.
Each one of the components of this blend bring different characteristics to the wine. Malbec grapes give an aromatic expression; accompanied with a touch of spice that is characteristic of Syrah and the typical structure and freshness of Cabernet Franc.
Aromas of pepper, spice and coffee; flavours of black and red fruits – cherry, raspberry – plus licorice with a little blackberry and mocha. A multi layered rounded palate – big, spicy and a long finish with balanced tannins.
About the Producer
Familia Millan
2002 was the big date for the Millán family in the wine business, they bought their first winery ‘Toneles’ – built in 1922 but completely abandoned for 35 years. José Jesús Millán and his family committed to restore and upgrade it to a “state of the art winery”. In 2008 the government gave the refurbished Toneles “Heritage of Mendoza” status.
2009 was the beginning of Mosquita Muerta Wines. “Mosquita Muerta” is an expression in Spanish which is used to describe a person with little potential for success who ends up accomplishing a remarkable feat. J J Millán chose this name for his project to mock those in the region who doubted of his potential as a wine business entrepreneur. Around 70% of Mosquita Muerta’s production is sold in Buenos Aires.
The main concept is to create Premium Blends from either different varietals, or single varietals from different estates. Vineyards located in the most important wine areas of Mendoza: Uco Valley, such as Gualtallary, Altamira, Los Árboles and Chacayes; and Lujan de Cuyo such as Perdriel, Vistalba and Agrelo. Winemaker Clara Roby (formerly with Montes) uses multiple fermentation and aging techniques to deliver stunning hand-crafted wines.
Millán are focussed on sustainability during the whole production process. From the start – in the vineyards drip irrigation is installed in order to use as little water as possible; to the finish – they have changed all bottles of entry levels and mid tiers to light-weight bottles of 410g. The Millán family is committed to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs.
They are about to release their first organic wine. All are suitable for vegans, with most being vegan certified.
