Winemaker Notes
Beautifully dramatic and alluring, this wine draws you in with aromas of violet, cocoa nibs, spearmint, brambly spice, and cedar cigar box. On the palate, supple, fine-grained tannins frame flavors of black cherry, espresso bean, graphite and tobacco leaf, all of which build to a long resonant fruit and spice finish.
Production
The 2020 growing season began with a relatively dry, mild winter followed by a dry, temperate spring, which resulted in an early April budbreak. The weather throughout spring and summer was even and warm, offering numerous clear, sun-filled days. In September, the weather turned hot, providing the grapes a final push towards optimal ripeness and flavor development. While the overall weather was exceptional for growing grapes, yielding wines with excellent structures and ripe, voluptuous flavors, the impact of the 2020 California wildfires required us to be exacting in our grape selection process, excluding any fruit that did not meet our standards. As a result, while our overall yields were down in 2020, we are extremely proud of the lush, opulent wines that we were able to craft from this vintage.