VERONICA ORTEGA CAL

Born and raised in Cadiz, Veronica Ortega came of age surrounded by the pungent aromas of flor, evaporating and the ocean. Her first exposure to the rigors of the profession came in the Priorat where she worked with both Alvro Palacios and Daphne Glorian. This initiation led her to stints working in New Zealand, in Burgundy at Comte Armand and DRC, in the northern Rhone at Domaine Combier before finally returning to and working several years along side Raul Perez in Bierzo.

In Bierzo she found a variety, Mencia, that bears many similarities to both Pinot and Syrah – refreshing acidity, bright fruit flavors and a affinity for expressing terroir. Bierzo is home to an ancient winemaking tradition, a ORIGIN unique climate that straddles the divide between cool maritime and Spain the torrid central plateau of Spain and two distinctive soils types: granitic sand and calcareous clay. APPELLATION Bierzo While Bierzo is largely synonymous with red wines made from Mencia that is grown on schist, slate, and sandy soils, there are other permitted SOIL Chalk varieties and soils in this mountainous region. Among the white varieties that make up nearly a quarter of the vines planted in the D.O., Godello

AGE OF VINES only represents 4% of the total plantings of vines – so when Veronica 30 Ortega found some 30 year old Godello planted on chalky soils near the village of San Juan de la Mata in the far western edge of Bierzo, it was a ELEVATION rare opportunity to make a unique expression of Bierzo Blanco. As with 600 meters all of Veronica’s wines, CAL is made from organically farmed grapes that are harvested by hand and fermented by indigenous yeasts. It is aged for 11 VARIETIES months in neutral 228L French oak barrels and 800L amphorae. Godello

FARMING Organic

FERMENTATION Hand harvested, natural yeast fermentation in 228L French oak barrels and 800L amphorae

AGING 11 months in 228L French oak barrels and 800L amphorae

PLACE OVER PROCESS • EUROPEANCELLARS.COM