A wine which exemplifies the art and skill of the winemaker.
"As is our habit, with roughly 10% of the blend, we employ the ancient Italian method of appassimento. We pick the grapes into small picking boxes, deliver them to a barn at the vineyard where they "rest" for 8 to 12 days on the cool concrete slab, the air constantly circulated by fans. After resting, the grapes are brought to the winery for destemming. The destemmed grapes are recombined with the degraped stems for a fermentation/cuvaison lasting around 6 weeks. The resulting wine exhibits a highly amplified Amaro/Chinato/mountain herb scent, along with an intense raspberry liqueur quality. This fraction is aged separately and most of it is blended back into the main cuvée before bottling, and greatly amplifies to the true DNA of wines made in this corner of the Santa Clara Valley - that forestry, alpine, liqueur deliciousness which makes the wine taste like nothing else but Grenache, and like no other Grenache."
#17 of Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wines of 2021.
"The winery's study of this 110-year-old, dry-farmed vineyard keeps getting better each vintage. Aromas of fresh red currant and raspberry are lifted by chaparral, gravel and turned earth on the nose. There's an herbal grip to the palate, as a rocky structure frames red-currant, crumpled carnation and rose-petal-tea flavors." 95pts, Editor's Choice, Matt Kettman, Wine Enthusiast, July 2021
