# Manifest: Still — El Ramato Carmesí (Merlot + Garnatxa)

## Product Identity

- **Type:** Still red wine. Aged 9 months in a single 225 L neutral oak barrel.
- **Grapes:** Merlot 50% (from **Vilobí del Penedès**, biodynamic + regenerative, dry-farmed, no chemicals) + Garnatxa 50% (from **Verdú, Lleida**, precision biodynamic)
- **Vintage:** 2025
- **Volume:** 200 L in a 225 L neutral oak barrel
- **Production:** ~266 bottles (200 L ÷ 0.75 L per 750 mL bottle)
- **Available:** Allocation by request. Single-vintage, single-barrel lot.
- **Ageing:** 9 months in 225 L neutral oak barrel
- **Source protocol:** `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/protocols/protocol_ES 3.pdf` — Proyecto 3: El Ramato Carmesí
- **Methodology framework:** `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/protocols/Analysis_Holobiont.pdf` — Five Levers of Control, Cascading Failure Principle
- **Constructor route:** `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/deliverables/CONSTRUCTOR_DECISION_TREE.md` — Route 3: Still red, VA-managed blend and barrel route

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## The Two Regions, One Protocol

This Still wine draws from two distinct origins and two farming frameworks:

- **Merlot from Vilobí del Penedès** — Mediterranean maritime influence, calcareous-clay soils, biodynamic and regenerative management. Provides round mid-palate flesh and soft tannin structure.
- **Garnatxa from Verdú, Lleida** — inland precision biodynamic management. Provides glycerol body, fruit weight, and aromatic depth.

The two varieties are co-fermented from Day 1 and aged together in a single 225 L neutral oak barrel. The result is a single wine from two places — a precision biodynamic protocol applied across regional difference.

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## Narrative Links

### Claim: "Two regions, two farming frameworks, one protocol — precision biodynamic across regional difference"
→ **Proof:** See `03_technical/protocol_followed.md` (Phase 1: The Mix)
  - Merlot from Vilobí del Penedès — biodynamic + regenerative, **dry-farmed, no chemicals, natural products only**. Vine roots reach deep into calcareous-clay substrate; canopy and cover-crop competition manage vine stress
  - Garnatxa from Verdú — precision biodynamic, glycerol and fruit-weight contribution
  - Co-fermented in a single tank from Day 1; aged together in a single barrel for 9 months
  - The protocol unifies the regional and methodological difference through chemistry, not blending

→ **Visual:** See `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/Merlot/boxes in trailer.HEIC`, `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/Garnatxa/Poorin Garnatxa to glass.HEIC`

### Claim: "The 50/50 blend is the protocol — the math that the precision biodynamic framework requires"
→ **Proof:** See `03_technical/protocol_followed.md` (Phase 1: The Mix)
  - 100 L Merlot + 100 L Garnatxa, co-fermented and aged together
  - The 50/50 proportion is the protocol's design, not a stylistic choice
  - The Acid Shield (pH 3.25) and the controlled barrel aging are calibrated to this exact blend

→ **Visual:** See `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/Garnatxa/Poorin Garnatxa to glass.HEIC` (color reference for the blending component)

### Claim: "40 ppm SO₂ at blending is the protocol's single sulfur decision — calibrated to the Acid Shield"
→ **Proof:** See `03_technical/protocol_followed.md` (Day 1: calibrated SO2 addition)
  - 40 ppm SO₂ added at blending
  - At the Acid Shield's pH 3.25, the molecular fraction of SO₂ is approximately twice what it would be at pH 3.7
  - This is the only SO₂ in the entire protocol — used surgically, justified by the chemistry

→ **Visual:** See `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/videos/Taking samples for microbiology.MOV` (microbiology sampling context)

### Claim: "The 225 L barrel must be filled completely — any headspace breaks the protocol"
→ **Proof:** See `03_technical/protocol_followed.md` (Day 2: The Barrel)
  - 200 L wine in a 225 L barrel = 25 L of headspace if not managed
  - Protocol: top up **weekly** to eliminate O₂ ingress at the wine surface
  - Headspace O₂ would compromise the precision biodynamic framework's integrity

→ **Visual:** See `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/Merlot/trying wine.HEIC` (barrel tasting context)

### Claim: "9 months in neutral oak — the wood is an oxygen-transfer vessel"
→ **Proof:** See `03_technical/protocol_followed.md` (Aging: 9 months)
  - Neutral oak = no vanilla/lactone contribution from the wood itself
  - The microoxygenation through the stave is the entire point
  - 9 months is calibrated to the protocol's chemistry, not to industrial standards

→ **Visual:** See `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/Garnatxa/Garnatxa vineyard.HEIC` (terroir reference)

### Claim: "Acidity Shield (Escudo Ácido) at pH 3.25, before blending, before everything"
→ **Proof:** See `03_technical/protocol_followed.md` (Phase 0: Acidification)
  - Both Merlot (100 L) and Garnatxa (100 L) acidified to pH 3.25 individually, before Day 1
  - This is the same Acid Shield as in the Cava protocol — the universal Phase 0
  - Cold is the second shield: all tanks <8°C during acidification

### Claim: "Tasting the wine is the central monitoring tool — chemistry is necessary but not sufficient"
→ **Proof:** See `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/protocols/Merlot2_es.pdf` (full document)
  - The Merlot paper's central argument: chemistry alone cannot guide the protocol
  - Daily sensory evaluation is the protocol's primary feedback loop
  - The discipline is observation + response, not measurement + override

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## Sensory Profile

**Intended:** A still red of integration — Mediterranean roundness from Vilobí's Merlot, structural depth from Verdú Garnatxa, the saline thread of limestone, and the savory character of nine months in neutral oak.

- **Nose:** Dark cherry, plum, dried Mediterranean herbs (rosemary, thyme), a savory umami backbone, faint leather
- **Palate:** Medium body. The Merlot's round mid-palate gives flesh; the Garnatxa's glycerol gives weight. Tannins present but soft (Merlot's natural tannins, polymerized by 9 months of microoxygenation)
- **Body:** Medium. Built for the table.
- **Finish:** Long. A saline thread at the very end — the limestone signature of both parcels.

**Words for this wine:** *savory, structured, table wine, Mediterranean, integrated*

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## Production & Scarcity

- **Single-vintage 2025.** No blending across vintages.
- **Single barrel.** 200 L in a 225 L neutral oak barrel. This is the entire universe of this wine.
- **~266 bottles.** 200 L ÷ 0.75 L per 750 mL = 266 bottles.
- **Scarcity as fact:** "Single barrel. ~266 bottles. Library allocation by request."

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## Sales Playbook Mapping

| Persona | Primary Asset | Secondary Asset |
|---|---|---|
| **Investor** | `03_technical/protocol_followed.md` (cross-regional sourcing, Acid Shield, calibrated sulfur decision, 9-month oak aging) | `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/Merlot/trying wine.HEIC` |
| **High-End Buyer** | `04_sensory/target_profile.md` (the two-regions-one-protocol narrative) | `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/Merlot/trying wine.HEIC` |
| **Sommelier** | `03_technical/chemical_analysis.json` (the blend chemistry, the barrel protocol) | `~/.picoclaw/workspace/symbiogenesis/photos_videos/Garnatxa/Poorin Garnatxa to glass.HEIC` |

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*Last updated: June 2025*
*Source: protocols/protocol_ES 3.pdf — Proyecto 3 (Nov 2025) + Merlot2_es.pdf (Oct 2025) + Analysis_Holobiont.pdf + deliverables/CONSTRUCTOR_DECISION_TREE.md*