Growing Conditions
The fruit for this wine is sourced exclusively from mountain vineyards: Haystack on Atlas Peak, Clouds Nest in the Mt. Veeder appellation and Howell Mountain. The blend for this vintage is comprised of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, with small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Both the grape and vineyard percentages vary from year to year to capture the very best of that particular vintage.
Winemaking
This wine is focused on expressing the black and blue fruit aromatics and flavors of Malbec and Merlot, with Cabernet Sauvignon adding structure. Landon utilizes co-fermentation and early blending (six months after fermentation) to create the core wine blend for optimal texture integration. Because the wine is texture driven, bottle age is just as important as barrel age to maintain the freshness and aromatics. Landon has found that Malbec and Merlot tend to reach peak freshness and integration at around 16 months in barrel, so the wine is bottled after that, which allows it to age in bottle longer before release, resulting in a more integrated, soft texture.
