Appellation:
Shenandoah Valley
Winemaker Notes:
The 2017 season was characterized by above average rainfall, almost 200% snowpack in the Sierras (50’ of snow at Heavenly!), great for skiers and farmers! With all the rain and colder winter temperatures, we pruned later in mid-March versus the usual mid-February. The summer was cooler for the most part aside from a heatwave in August. Harvest came about the usual date, September 23, at 23 Brix. We decided to harvest a little lighter on Brix this year to make a lighter alcohol Primitivo. The acidity was perfectly balanced and ended at 3.9.
Our Primitivo Seta is made by taking the “free run” juice right after fermentation, before pressing the remaining solids, making for a silky and lighter but full-bodied Primitivo wine. 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. Secondary malolactic fermentation was done over six months during the winter and the wine was aged for 2 years prior to bottling. We decided to add no oak this year and so you are tasting the pure varietal from our vineyard terroir.
It is light on alcohol and tannins, dancing on your tongue with characteristics of plum, dried cherries, black pepper, vanilla and licorice. A very balanced structure and mineral taste due to our Sierra granite soil. Due to its light tannins, it pairs well with anything tomato based, such as spaghetti Bolognese, veal parmigiana, or chicken cacciatore. It is also great with earthy vegetables like mushrooms, onion and eggplant, or dry and firm cheeses.
Vineyard Notes:
Planted on deep growing and drought tolerant special rootstock, our Estate Old Vine Primitivo grows on a steep hillside at a 2,000-foot altitude in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley of the Sierra Foothills. It thrives in warm daytime breezes from the Central Valley and cool Sierra evenings, a 30 degree swing in temperature. Our Primitivo is dry farmed with sustainable growing practices.
