Primitivo Seta 2016
Regular price $29.00
Unit price per
Silver Medal Winner, 2019 Amador Wine Competition
90 Cases produced
Planted on deep growing and drought tolerant special rootstock, our 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.
Winemaker Notes
The 2016 season was an “El Nino” year characterized by normal rainfall in California which officially ended the five year drought. There was a warm sunny spell in February which forced us to prune about 2 weeks early and then heavy rains and cooler weather from March into May which was nice because it delayed bud break on the grapevines. Harvest came two weeks later than usual but right on target at 25.4 Brix and 3.6 pH. Overall the harvest was still down 30% versus normal yield, a lingering effect of the drought.
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 with an infusion of American medium toasted oak. Secondary malolactic fermentation was done over six months during the winter and the wine was aged for 2 years prior to bottling. It is light on tannins and dances 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.
Planning on ordering more than a case (12 bottles)? Please contact us at come@lamesavineyards.com to discuss a shipping discount.