Nose
The nose is expressive, with aromas of red fruit, cassis and toast.
Palate
The wine is full-bodied, packed with flavors of boysenberry, raspberry and black cherry, along with notes of sweet tobacco, cedar and vanilla. Supple tannins carry through to a lingering finish.
Growing Conditions
A cool spell in August stalled harvest a bit at the outset, but a warm September brought a mad dash to the finish. All in all, 2016 was another high-quality vintage despite small volumes for some varietals due to cool, rainy weather at flowering. Sustainable farming practices throughout the growing season were tailored to each block with the assistance of aerial photos produced using NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) technology. The fruit was hand-picked at night and sorted in the vineyard.
Winemaking
The grapes were carefully destemmed and optically sorted to ensure only perfect fruit made it into the wine. A cold soak extracted color and flavor, before a combination of tank and barrel fermentation was used to provide a richer, more textured palate. The wine was gently basket-pressed before being racked to French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and aging.
Appearance
This wine is vibrant dark purple with a fuchsia rim.