WINEMAKER’S NOTES:
Each grape variety was hand harvested into small bins and carefully sorted in our gravity flow cellar. The clusters were gently destemmed directly into traditional French oak tanks for cold soak, fermentation and extended maceration a total of 30 days of wine to skin contact maximizing the extraction of varietal character and complexity while keeping the tannins fleshy and supple. The new wines were drained and gently pressed into 32% new French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, assuring seamless integration of fruit and oak. The final blend was assembled through repeated tasting trials over the twenty-nine months of barrel aging. The wine was bottled in February of 2016.
A concentration of black cherry, vanilla and sweet spice form the back bone of this intensely dark fruited, structured wine, with a subtle layer of earthy garrigue (fragrant dried brush of southern France) adding complexity to the full, creamy palate. Focused and harmonious, this is a powerful expression of Oakville in a Bordeaux blend.
