Nose
This fragrant blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Grenache wafts out of the glass with aromas of black raspberries and kirsch liqueur with subtle hints of Herbs de Provence and dark roast coffee.
Palate
The zesty palate includes a medley of savory flavors of dark fruit notes complemented by Monte Rosso’s signature spices. It has the vineyard’s classic frame of balanced acidity and notes of iron. The wine’s depth, mouthwatering fruit and lush mouthfeel display the extraordinary complexity that can be produced from this world-class mountain vineyard.
Growing Conditions
Our Mountain Red is crafted from select blocks on the legendary Monte Rosso Vineyard. Every vintage offers a distinct, vivid expression of this renowned site. In 2017, abundant winter rainfall fueled vine growth early in the season. A mild spring, followed by steady warmth in the summer and fall, led to a slightly early harvest with ripe, fruit-driven intensity.
Harvest
The grapes were harvested by hand and delivered in half-ton picking bins.
Aging
The fruit was hand-sorted, destemmed and partially crushed before being gravity-fed into our open-top tanks for a 3-5-day cold soak before fermentation. Up to 10 days after primary fermentation was complete, the wine was gravity racked into oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. The wine was kept separate in individual lots, then the blend was assembled in summer 2018 and allowed to marry before bottling. In total, the wine was aged for 19 months in a mix of puncheons and new French oak barrels (78% new).
