Tasting notes
On the nose, with inviting aromas of blackberry and black currant, the 2020 vintage shows depth and elegance. The inky, richly-colored wine’s dark fruit aromas sway to deeper caramel and oak spice notes. This proves true on the palate, creating the groundwork for lavender notes to sit atop. Ripe and round silky tannins combine with an approachable mouthfeel to create a wine with great structure and balance, solid acidity, and a vibrant finish that lingers. Enjoy now or allow this layered wine to continue to evolve and reveal itself over the next 3-5 years.
Technical information
Appellation
Napa Valley
Alcohol
15.1%
Winemaking
The Petite Sirah grapes were hand harvested in the cool of the early morning. At the winery, fruit is destemmed and the whole berries move through an optical sorter to select only the highest quality fruit. Fermentation in 100% stainless steel with two weeks of skin contact imparted deep, beautiful color concentration and fruit character. The wine was aged in a mix of French, 62%, Hungarian, 29%, and American 9% oak barrels for 17 months, providing an array of oak spices imparted by the characteristics of each barrel’s flavor profile.
Vintage
The 2020 season will be remembered for factors beyond the typical harvest season. It was a warm, dry winter, and the rain and cooler weather didn’t arrive until the end of March. While the mild spring season was a great early start, our winery working conditions had extensive safety protocols due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Summer brought very cool mornings and very warm days, but then harvest was interrupted by wildfires across California, which came as grapes started to be picked, and we were very fortunate that none of our vineyards were in the areas of the active fires.
Vineyard
Fruit for the 2020 vintage comes from the very northern tip of Napa Valley, originating from BV Ranch 12 and Godward vineyards in Calistoga. This area experiences strong diurnal temperature swings, with very hot days and nights cooled by fog from the Russian River Valley that funnels through the Chalk Hill gap. The Ranch #12 vineyard, with its warm mesoclimate and lean, well-drained soils, produces dark, deeply flavored fruit with exotic floral and spice characteristics. The Godward vineyard is one of the northernmost vineyards on Highway 128 in the Calistoga AVA before moving into Knight’s Valley. The expressive fruit brings ripe tannins and intense color.