WINEMAKER NOTES All of our fruit is hand harvested and brought into the winery
within hours of being picked. Everything is methodically and obsessively sorted. A
cold soak of 4-7 days with minimal air incorporation starts the extraction and then
cool fermentations with native yeast carry out the remaining. Air and temperature
are controlled throughout the 14-28 day fermentation and extended maceration is
determined lot by lot when I walk the fine line of full extraction but still keep an
elegant and silky texture. Wines go through malolactic fermentation in barrel and
are aged (sur-lees) for 18 months.
For this vintage, we crafted a distinct Bordeaux blend, composed almost equally of
cabernet sauvignon, malbec, and merlot, delicately balancing with a smaller
inclusion of cabernet franc. The ripe red fruit characters are structured by silky
seamless tannins, showcasing an elegant density to the blend. The 2020s are
expressive in their youth and are drinking beautifully with a decant now, and will
only continue to reward with cellaring. While the significant wildfire challenges of
this vintage did not allow us to produce our entire portfolio of wines, the wines we
were able to put to bottle were done so with complete confidence and a
renewed sense of awe for the delicate balance between unpredictable nature
and precise science that our craft is rooted in.
— WINEMAKER JESSE KATZ
APPELLATION
Sonoma County
BLEND
33% Cabernet Sauvignon
28% Malbec
28% Merlot
11% Cabernet Franc
BARREL PROGRAM
Aged 18 months
45% new oak
60 and 70 gallon French oak barrels
UNFINED, UNFILTERED
AND UN-ACIDIFIED
VINEYARD
This wine is composed of all hillside
vineyards which helps to keep berry
size down and concentration strong.
SOIL TYPE | Clay Loam
The vineyard blocks that make up our
Red Blend are all clay soil type. This
clay helps some of the early ripening
varietals lengthen their growing
season so the grapes achieve full
phenolic ripeness while also keeping a
freshness in the fruit characteristics.