HARVESTED: October 3rd – 20th, 2022
VINEYARD: Santa Cruz Mountains
SOILS: loamy clay
BOTTLED: April 2024, 200 cases
COMPOSITION: Cabernet & Merlot
ALCOHOL: 13.7%
WINEMAKER: Andrew Vingiello
VINEYARD MANAGER: Thayer Dunwoody
VINTAGE NOTES
The 2022 vintage started with a chilly and dry winter although, fortunately, there had been considerable rainfall late in the previous year which helped saturate soils. Spring remained chilly and dry until late March when rains developed for a few weeks into April while warmer temperatures prompted an earlier budbreak. The continued severe drought had a predictable (and not bad) effect: the berries themselves were smaller, which generally means smaller crops, smaller clusters but concentrated, high-quality wines. The post-veraison period was warm but mostly moderated, until September when a heat spell set in. Fruit continued to develop evenly until reaching phenolic ripeness. Vintages of such magnitude generally deliver wines with great transparency to the vineyard.
WINEMAKING NOTES
The grapes were handpicked, sorted, and destemmed. Fermented in small lots using inoculated yeasts for a combination of control and complexity. Punched down twice daily and in some cases pumped over. Left on the skins for anywhere from 14 to 21 days. Free run and pressed wine settled to a combination of new and used French Oak barrels. 18 month elevage. Obsessively tasted and trialed prior to assemblage. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
TASTING NOTES
Bright sweet raspberries, red roses, and crushed granite aromas giving way to a racy fruit forward wine shining with blueberries, sour cherries and red plum. Well structured and gorgeous, textured mid palate mouthfeel. Light in tannin and full of red fruits, a great match for any red pasta sauce or grilled meats.
CELLARING
Enjoy now or over the next 3-5 years.