Nose
The nose opens up with fresh characters of melon and a peach.
Palate
The fruit continues into mouth adding lime and a hint of green apple. The wine is crisp and delicate and finishes clean with a touch of mineral.
Growing Conditions
The growing season of 2016 got off to another early start with bloom just a few days later than the record early harvest of 2015. Mild weather through the summer allowed the grapes to ripen at a moderate rate developing deep and intense character. As a result of the early spring, harvest came in early also, beginning a full 2 ½ weeks earlier than average.
But mild weather through the harvest brought the fruit in at a slow pace allowing us to pick each block at its optimal ripeness and get the fruit into the winery early in the day and cold. The yields were thankfully average, a welcome development after the rollercoaster of record highs and lows of recent years. The fruit quality was excellent, and finishing up harvest two weeks early gave us more time to enjoy the rest of the autumn.
Winemaking
The grapes were hand harvested by our expert vineyard crew from our Estate vineyards, into small picking bins as not to crush them. The grapes were then whole-cluster pressed. The juice was then 100% Stainless Steel fermented at 55°F to 60°F to retain freshness.
Food Pairing
Light lime and ripe stone fruit flavors create a lively match for coconut curries with pineapple fried rice or watermelon gazpacho topped with fresh feta and cilantro. The crisp satisfying acid compliments hard cheeses such as Rocinante, Gouda or Mezzo Secco.
