Nose
Full bodied and well structured, the wine begins with dark fruit aromas and savory notes of spice.
Palate
Flavors of blackberry, black currant are balanced with spices of black pepper and sage. This full bodies wine has long lingering tannins that coat your whole palate before fishing with sweet oak notes.
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.
Harvest
Our Petite Sirah is sourced from two vineyards both located the southeast side of the Estrella district in the heart of the ancient river plains where soils range from gravely sand to sandy loam. The Lagrein is grown and sourced from a historic Paso Robles vineyard in the Paso Robles Highlands district and is one of just a few Lagrein plantings in California and certainly the largest acreage. Soils here are higher elevation plains with consistent loam soils. Both districts are in the direct eastern path of the Templeton Gap winds that consistently blow through just as the vineyard temperature reach highs in the 90’s to cool the vineyards each afternoon about two o’clock in the afternoon.
Bottling
July 2022
Winemaking
After harvest, one Lagrein and four Petite Sirah lots were fermented individually in stainless-steel tanks for 10-14 days. Extended macerations and carefully managed pump overs enhanced the extraction of color and tannin.
Aging
The varietals were aged separately for 9 months, the Lagrein in 100% neutral French and American Oak and the Petite Sirah in 100% neutral French and American Oak. The lots were racked only once during its cellar life, with the final racking occurring to blend, just prior to filtering and bottling.
Food Pairing
Lasagna
