Vineyard: Our estate vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, known as “the Vinegrove,” features several different blocks with unique exposures and soil types. The main “swale” in the center was recently field grafted to Grenache on the nearly 30-year old rootstock planted in very fine Laughlin loam. Isolated up in the hills, it is a few degrees cooler than the valley floor, allowing for balance and elegance in our expression of Grenache.

Vintage: The 2019 growing season began with heavy rains in March and April, which allowed soils to store up plenty of water to weather the dramatic heat spikes we witnessed in June and mid-August. Other than those brief events, the growing season was relatively mild and we were able to take advantage of the extended hangtime on our estate vineyard. Harvest occurred on October 2nd and yielded grapes with bright, expressive fruit flavors and balanced acidity despite higher sugars.

Winemaking: Harvested by hand and fermented spontaneously with wild yeast in two separate tanks – one fully destemmed and one 50% whole cluster. The must was punched down manually once or twice per day and the pace was brisk despite moderate temperatures of 78-85 degrees during the peak of fermentation. The wine was pressed after less than 2 weeks on the skins and racked into French oak – 28% new. The wine spent 2 years in barrel before it was racked and bottled unfined and unfiltered.