Product Notes
The wine
Bodega Noemía 2011 is a 100 % Malbec:
- 14 % Alcohol
- pH 3,60
- 5,85 g/l of Titratable acidity
Only 5,860 bottles and 70 Magnums were produced.
NB. As the wine is a 100% natural and unfiltered; it may present some harmless deposits in the bottle.
The winemaking
After making wine from our Noemía single vineyard since 2001, we have localized the various different “lots” (plots) and have ended up by dividing the 1,5 hectare into 4 “lots”. Each one having differences in soil composition and exposure to the natural elements.
We began harvest this year on the 30th of March 2011, the first two “lots” from our 1,5 Hectare vineyard, both days were favorable on the Bio calendar, they were flower/root days. Then we continued with the 3rd and 4th “lots” the 13th and 14th of April 2011, a fruit day, another favorable day following the Bio calendar.
All the grapes were picked by hand into 10 Kg crates, then transported in a cool truck to the winery. The grapes were then destemmed by hand, berry by berry! Imagine, that in one day with 12 people destemming by hand, we manage to turn out what a machine can in only 10 minutes!
The grapes are fermented in small 2,500 litres cement vats, and are let to cold soak for about 10 days. They then start up with their natural yeasts as they slowly warm up in the vats. We are very keen for our own natural yeast to deal with all the fermentation, as the yeast really does give Noemía’s unique character.
The fermentation lasted 3,5 weeks, extracting color and tannins with the old fashion “pigeage” or “plunging” method once or twice a day. This is the most gentle way of extraction in winemaking, at Bodega Noemía, we look for elegance and finesse, not over extraction.
Once the fermentation terminated, we ran off the wine by gravity into a little tank and then with the help of a forklift, we elevate the tank so we can feed the wine by gravity into their 100% new French barrels made by the finest coopers in France. The wine proceeded with its indigenous malolactic fermentation for about 2 months at about 18 degrees Celsius. No batonnage. The wine then remained 18 months in barrels.
We blended the wine the Saturday 15th of December 2012, a fruit day/low moon following the Bio-Dynamic calendar. Out of 23 barrels, we selected only 20 barrels for the final blend.
The reason why we have more bottles of Noemía than ever, is that our replanting of the dead vines have come into production, and the barrels were so good that we left out less than usual.
The afternoon of the Saturday 22nd of December 2012, a fruit day with a waxing moon, the wine was bottled unfinned and unfiltered.
The vines are a 100% Malbec, pre-phelloxera, Pied-Franco of 81 years of age.
Matching the wine
The classic serving for Noemía is lamb, better even if it is from Patagonia!
Please serve at 16 Celsius, the equivalent of 60 Fahrenheit.
After uncorking the bottle, the wine will evolve constantly for the 48 hours that follow.
10 years
The 2011 marks 10 years of bottled Noemía wines, although our fist bottling was 2001, we didn’t come out with the 2005 vintage as we were not satisfied with the quality of the wine due to an early frost that didn’t allow the vines to mature the grapes to their full potential.
The area
The estate is situated in the Rio Negro Valley, which is 620 miles South of Buenos Aires, 280 miles East of the Andes, 310 miles West of the Atlantic and a further 1240 miles from Tierra del Fuego. In other words, it is located in the middle of the desert. The valley’s microclimate is under the influence of two rivers deriving from the Andes, the Neuquen and the Limay which form into the Rio Negro, which throws itself into the Atlantic. The Rio Negro valley is an ex glacier which is 310 miles long and 15,5 miles large at 250 yards above sea level. In 1828, the British colonies, having observed the large amounts of water flowing in the river, decided to create hannels which would irrigate the valley thus forming a type of oasis in the middle of the desert.
The climate
Both the spring and summer months were relatively cool for the valley, the real heat only started around the 15th of February. The autumn was long and beautiful, an almost perfect Harvest for us in Rio-Negro.
The vineyard
The vineyard is 1,5 hectares. The vines were planted in 1932. The vines are pre phelloxera period, “pied franco” and Massale selection, meaning that each vine is genetically different, unlike the common clonale type.
All of our 11 hectares of estate vineyards are both cultivated organically Bio-Dynamically and are certified by Argencer & Demeter. On the farm we produce ourselves 7 out of 8 Bio-Dynamic preparations (502,503,504,506,507) with exclusively our own raw material. We also do our own horn manure (500) and Bio-Dynamic composts.