Atamisque Serbal Cabernet Franc

Description

Atamisque Serbal Cabernet Franc is made at the Atamisque winery which is located in San José district in Tupungato, in the Uco Valley. It is the first winery on Route 86 which is known as the “Ruta del Vino” or “Wine Route”. Bodega Atamisque is owned by Frenchman John Du monceau and his wife, Chantal, who founded the estate and celebrated their first vintage in 2007. The estate boasts not only a gravity-fed winery but also a golf course, lodges, restaurant and trout farm. The vineyards cover some 100 hectares on sand and alluvial soils over the base rock. The vineyards are located at an altitude of 1300m above sea level which means cool nights and increased luminosity produce an extended ripening period. They also buy some fruit in from growers. The Serbal range of wines is the local name for the Rowan tree, or “Lady of the Mountains”, a magical tree to the Celts. It is a Serbal that adorns the front label. Originally the Cabernet Franc grown was destined for some of their blended wines but they were eventually persuaded to bottle some of it on its own.

The grapes for Atamisque Serbal Cabernet Franc come 7 year old vines planted high in the Tupungato region. They are hand-harevested and undergo two selections, whole cluster selection in the vineyard followed by berry selection at the winery to ensure only the best and ripest fruit is used. The grapes undergo a 6 day period of cold maceration to emphasis fresh fruit flavours, followed by fermentation for about 25 days and then 10 day period of post fermentation to extract more colour and flavour. Atamisque Serbal Cabernet Franc is bottled unoaked. Winemaker is another Frenchman, Philippe Caraguel who has worked at Moët & Chandon, Maison Drouhin and Château Malartic-Lagravière.