Winemaker’s Notes
A wine of deeply pigmented hue, expressing dark red and purple tones. The 2022 vintage has opulent aromas of youthful black plum, Mission fig, cassis, anise and a hint of espresso. With a rich, densely layered palate and flavors of blackberry, plum, black cherry and notes of dark chocolate, this is full-bodied, structured offering with fine grain, velvety tannins and a lengthy finish.
Winemaking
The 2022 growing season began with budbreak in mid-March through early April, followed by shoot growth in May. Early summer brought warm days and cool nights with veraison in mid to late July. Temps remained even through early harvest, but early September brought a heat wave that accelerated ripening under dry conditions. Overall, 2022 created wines with opulent aromatics and flavors.
The fruit was hand-harvested in the cool morning and brought to the winery in half-ton bins. Clusters were sorted with a double sorting system: first by hand, then via a de-stemmer before berries were individually sorted. These were sent to a fermenter and rested on skins. Warm fermentation temps and gentle cap maceration achieved desired color and structure, followed by extended skin contact and 19 months in barrel.
Thirteen percent of the sorted berries used in this blend were fermented in small French oak tanks, and ten percent were fermented in new French oak barrels, all to add layers of texture and complexity to the blend.