Nose
Black cherry, blackberry, loamy soil and hints of oak show on the nose of this blend from Kimsey Vineyard.
Palate
There is a firmly grippy structure on this dense palate as well as bright, fresh acidity, delivering flavors of dark fruit and light licorice spice.
Growing Conditions
2019 will go down as the greatest cool-weather vintage of the decade, maybe even further back than that. Cool vintages produce excellent wines. Fruit hangs on the vine longer, developing more complexity, revealing more depth of character, leaner fruit profiles, and more prominent minerality in the finished wines. It’s like God copy-pasted the 2011 vintage, then erased all the problematic weather events that plagued us eight years ago. The 2019 vintage that our region has been releasing will be cherished now and for years to come, as they are lively and approachable at the moment, while possessing the litheness to age gracefully for another decade or more.
Harvest
Kimsey Vineyard, Ballard Canyon
Winemaking
Fermented on native yeast, 50% whole cluster, on skin for 14-18 days.
Aging
Aged for 22 months in 265L French & Hungarian oak barriques, 40% new.