Nose
On the nose this wine exhibits beautiful fruit notes of green apple, pear, lychee fruit and lemon zest. Floral aromatics of lilacs, honeysuckle, and jasmine give way to a subtle minerality.
Palate
In the mouth integrated acids add balance to a soft mouthfeel and pleasant green tea finish.
Growing Conditions
he 2019 growing season was a challenging vintage but Tertulia Cellars was fortunate. We had a very wet start to the season. Things looked like they would get better as we went through August with great weather. Towards the later end of September, we began to get frost events interspersed with more rain. We were seeing frost events about every 7 to 10 days. Luckily, we were able to pick before we saw any damage. We saw no negative impact from the challenging vintage.
**Whistling Hills Estate Vineyard:**
Planted in 2007 this vineyard wraps around our beautiful winery. The vines are nestled in deep windblown loess soil. The vines roots reach deep down into the soil unimpeded to make elegantly balanced wines. Our vines are planted at 23 degrees off North to allow for perfect sun exposure. With latitude of 46 degrees North our vines are sun drenched during the summer, receiving over 17 hours of light during the peak part of the growing season. This allows the fruit to perfectly ripen each year. Whistling Hills receives little in the way of rainfall, so we utilize drip irrigation to direct the perfect amount of moisture to the vines. The Walla Walla Valley lies in the desert of Eastern Washington. During the latter days of ripening we experience warm days and cool nights in our vineyard allowing the grapes to retain Washington’s signature acidity.
Winemaking
Barrel fermented and aged in 100% French oak. The wine was fermented between 55- and 60-degrees F. to preserve its aromatics. The wine was Sur Lee aged (aging on the spent yeast) to promote a richer mouthfeel.
