The Vineyard
This esteemed vineyard is located directly south of our estate vineyard, Fe Ciega and was planted in 2001 by pioneer vintner and longtime friend Richard Sanford. I source my fruit from a block that is planted to the Dijon 777 clone.
The Harvest
An unusually warm growing season resulted in an early harvest of our grapes on August 26th, which coincidently was the same harvest date as the year before. The grapes had an average sugar content of 23.4 Brix.
Winemaking
The grapes were 100% destemmed and crushed into a small open top fermenter. After a three-day cold soak, the must was inoculated with yeast and fermented for seven days. The wine was then pressed off, settled, and transferred to French oak barrels to begin aging. Approximately 33% of the wine aged in new barrels with the balance in neutral barrels. The wine aged for 11 months before being bottled in August 2016, without fining and just a light filtration.
The Wine
The wine has a medium ruby color of medium intensity. The aromas are a
complex mixture of dried berries, cloves and mince pie. On the palate the wine is medium bodied with flavors of currants, herbs and walnuts. The combination of high acidity and moderate tannins gives the wine a dry finish.
Food Pairings
Serve this wine with pork, veal and duck as well as mushroom risotto.
Rick Longoria, Winemaker
March 1, 2017
