Growing Conditions
Outpost was established in 1998 with the vision of producing wines that are a living, breathing embodiment of this magical place. Truly one of the world’s great Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel growing regions, the unique terroir of the Outpost vineyards – the hard, rocky red soil, high altitude, gentle cooling breezes and sunny western exposure – produces fruit of incredible intensity and richness, with a distinctive spice you simply cannot find anywhere else.
Capturing the essence of the land’s rugged terrain, Outpost creates world-class 100% varietal bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Grenache from our own hand-cultivated, organically farmed 28 acre estate vineyard.
Winemaking
Outpost grapes are harvested late in the season – by hand, at dawn – to preserve the full intensity and distinctive spicy character of the mountain fruit. The grapes are processed with as little manipulation as possible. Grapes from each block within the vineyard are fermented separately so that our winemaking team can be very selective about the lots that comprise the final blend. Wines are neither fined nor filtered allowing for the full expression of the vintages’ potential.
In 2007 we followed our usual protocol regarding style with no new
wood, approximately 50% whole cluster and a combination of punchdowns
and pumpovers. We bled 5% of the juice by volume out of the tank 24
hours into the cold soak and it made a tremendous difference with
regard to color and concentration.
Aging
100% 2-5 year old French oak barrels
Appearance
The 2007 is more of a firm red
color rather than the red/orange hue of years past. The concentration
increased as well by raising the skin to juice ratio. There’s always been
a bit of a disconnect between the visual appearance of the wine and its
palate weight and that is still the case with this vintage. The wine may
be a bit redder but it’s still the varietally correct light red of a 100%
Grenache wine.
