HARVESTED: September 12-30, 2019
VINEYARD: Santa Cruz Mountains
SOILS: loamy clay
BOTTLED: April 2021, 336 cases
COMPOSITION: Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot, Sangiovese
ALCOHOL: 13.7%
WINEMAKER: Charlie Miller
VINEYARD MANAGER: Thayer Dunwoody
VINTAGE NOTES
Spring was long and cold with plenty of rain throughout the region. For those vineyards that started bloom after the rains, the crop was very strong. Everything seemed to come late – from budbreak to bloom and right on through varaison. Ripening came about at a snail’s pace, ultimately making for wines with great flavor at lower alcohol levels.
WINEMAKING NOTES
The grapes were handpicked, sorted, and destemmed. Fermented in small lots, a combination of inoculated and indigenous yeast ferments for a combination of control and complexity. Punched down twice daily and in some cases pumped over. Left on the skins for anywhere from 10 to 21 days. Drained and pressed to a combination of new and used French Oak barrels. 19 month elevage. Obsessively tasted and trialed prior to assemblage. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
TASTING NOTES
Like a sweet incense, everything from cacao and coffee to blueberries and sour cherries drift from the glass. Racy, exotic, dense, and high-acid, this is about the most complex, everyday pizza wine you’re going to find.
CELLARING
Enjoy now or over the next 3-5 years.