Palate
On the palate concentrated fruit flavors
are balanced with crisp acidity, firm yet supple tannins and undertones of toasted
French oak, leading to a lingering, rich finish.
Winemaking
The grapes are hand-harvested and gently crushed to retain 40% whole berries. Prior to yeasting with Bordeaux
red yeast, we cold soaked for 72 hours, increasing the richness and intensity of the fruit character. Color
extraction utilizes a combination of manual pumpovers via a screen during the initial fermentation, with gentle
cap irrigation as the wine goes dry. Following fermentation the wine went through malo-lactic fermentation in
the presence of the skins while the wine macerated for up to three weeks. The free-run and press wines were
kept separate. The wine is aging in 80% new French oak, thin stave barrels for approximately 23 months and
racked every other month to naturally clarify the wine and soften the tannins. The wine is bottled unfined and
unfiltered.
