Nose
Aromas of dried violets, fresh mulberry and a touch of herbaceous qualities.
Palate
Flavors of olallieberry, cooking spices and warm chocolate. Tannins are well integrated creating a full-bod and balanced wine.
Growing Conditions
The 2021 growing season was very typical through early spring with warm days and cool nights. Early summer through harvest gave us some unexpected heatwaves but plenty of marine breezes and mild weather prevailed. The result was a slight delay of harvest while we waited for acidity, pH and brix to balance creating mature flavors.
Bottling
July 2022
Winemaking
Graciano was hand-picked from the Hope Family Vineyard in addition to sourcing a portion from premium Paso Robles vineyards. After harvest, the individual lots were fermented in stainless-steel tanks for 10-14 days. Extended macerations and carefully managed pump overs enhanced the extraction of color and tannin.
Aging
The lots were aged separately for 9 months in newer 65% French Oak as well as 35% neutral French and American Oak. The wine was racked only once during its cellar life where the lots were combined to make the final blend and barreled down to original barrels. The blend was then racked a final time before being filtered and bottled.
Appearance
Dark Ruby
