Tierra de Peña is a new project from father and son team Luis and Roberto Aburto, based in Colón in the state of Querétaro, Mexico. This area, north of Mexico City, features part of the lofty Sierra Madre Oriental Mountains, a subset of the long range of mountains that includes the Rocky Mountains and the Cascades. Tierra de Peña’s vines are planted at 1,900 meters (6,000 feet) above sea level in a working farm with chickens and other crops that is in sight of the colossal Peña de Bernal monolith, which gives the project its name.
The Wines
Pet Nat: Muscat from organically farmed vines planted on clay and chalk soils in 2015. Fermentation with native yeasts began in stainless-steel tanks and the wine was bottled with its lees while fermentation is in progress. Bottles were disgorged and refilled 4 months later.
Maceración Carbónica Syrah: Syrah from organically grown vines planted on clay and chalk soils in 2015. The grapes were placed in sealed stainless-steel tanks to start carbonic maceration where they fermented for 21 days before pressing with hydraulic press into neutral barrels to finish.