Vintage record manifest

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

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.

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

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*

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."

Sales Playbook Mapping

*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*