Harvest

At harvest, the grapes were ready to be picked in
mid-October. The grapes were destemmed with the use of enzymes for
settling and juice extraction and an ascorbic acid and SO2
blend to
control oxygen contact. The wine was fermented with D254 and CSM
yeast in an open top fermenter and peaked at 87 degrees. The wine was
coinnoculated for ML and fermented to dryness and pressed off the skins
to tank. A day later, the wine was moved to barrels to complete ML. Total
time: 11 days in fermentation. After secondary fermentation was
complete, SO2
was added. The wine was racked off the lees after nine
months and was racked only three times. The wine was crossflow filtered
before bottling and went to bottle on August 27th
, 2019. 50% new oak.

Bottling

95% Cabernet Sauvignon, J&S Vineyards, block 3. 5% Petit
Verdot, Minnick Hills. 50% new oak. Clone 191 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Winemaking

In 2017, our Cabernet vineyard threw us a
curveball, and it did not come in as ripe as we typically like it to be.
Cranberry, red currant, raspberry, and graphite join the variety’s typical
slight herbaceousness to enhance the nose. On the palate, this wine is
more fruity than the nose suggests it may be, and it finished with bright
acidity and firm tannins. Still young, this wine will age beautifully for many
years. Drink now through 2035.