Grenache Noir 2019 - Library

Appellation:

Shenandoah Valley

Winemaker Notes:

The 2019 season was characterized by heavy rainfall and a cold winter. Several atmospheric rivers brought storms with up to 6" of rain at times and a polar vortex decended from the north and touched us here in the Sierras producing quite a few days of snow at our 2000 ft altitude. The heavy rain continued through May making for a crazy start to the growing season. Bud break was a month later than usual but a warm summer quickly allowed the grapes to catch up and in our case was a normal harvest date. We picked our fruit a little earlier than in the past to lighten our alcohol across the board, listening to our customers for lighter and brighter wines.

Our Grenache was harvested on September 9 at a Brix of 24.3 and pH 3.4. After crushing the grapes we removed the stems to minimize tannins and herbal flavors, fermented and punched down the wine manually over two weeks, and then gently bladder-pressed it. No oak was used in order for you to enjoy and taste the pure Alban clone fruit. Secondary malolactic fermentation was done over six months during the winter and the wine was aged for 18 months to naturally settle prior to bottling.

The Grenache is a lighter body with ruby red color. It has aromas of strawberry, cherry, pipe tobacco, and fennel seed. The palate has mild tannins and a velvety feel, ample acidity and a lingering minerality on its lengthy finish. This is our second bottling and this year we tried a new yeast to enhance the aromas. We are extremely pleased with how it turned out and hope you will too.

Vineyard Notes:

Our Estate Grenache grows on a steep hillside at 2,000-foot altitude in the granitic and volcanic soil of our vineyard estate in the Shenandoah Valley of the Sierra Foothills. It is grafted on special drought tolerant rootstock which allows it to dig deep in this soil for water and we dry farm it. It thrives in the warm daytime breezes from the Central Valley and cool Sierra evenings, a 30 degree swing in temperature. We grow the infamous "Alban" clone, originally brought to California by "Rhône Ranger" John Alban who worked as a winemaker at the Château Rayas in Châteauneuf du Pape. We are extremely excited to see this Grenache clone thriving on our estate! It is super rare in the Sierras to find it and we have 2 acres growing.