Palate
Aglianico’s rich blackberry flavors are intertwined with savory notes of coffee, wild mushrooms and figs finishing with moderate tannins.
Growing Conditions
Our Aglianico is grown in a Paso Robles vineyard shadowed by Black Mountain. The vineyard receives less than 11 inches of rain per year and is influenced by cool air due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
Winemaking
The Aglianico grapes are hand-picked and de-stemmed without crushing. This is a very gentle process that minimizes the pick-up of bitter components from the skins and seeds. Grapes are pumped to one of our temperature controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks and inoculated with a pure strain of wine yeast. The bright, crisp flavors of this flavorful variety begin to emerge as fermentation progresses. The fermenting wine is tasted daily and once the desired tannin level is achieved the wine is pressed using our low-pressure “tank press”. The wine, now free of skins and seeds, is settled and then racked to barrels to gain complexity and a toasty character associated with the oak.
Aging
The wine was aged for 10 months in 30% new French medium toasted oak.
Food Pairing
It’s best with baked pastas, roasted lamb or a big sausage-topped pizza.
