Tasting notes
Brimming with inviting aromas of blackberry and black currant, the 2019 vintage oozes 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 5-10 years.
Technical information
Appellation
Napa Valley
Oak treatment
65% French oak, 35% Hungarian oak (42% new) for 16 months
Alcohol
14.9%
Winemaking
The Petite Sirah grapes were hand harvested in the cool of 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, 65%, and Hungarian, 35%, oak barrels for 16 months, providing an array of oak spices imparted by the characteristics of each barrel’s flavor profile.
Vintage
In 2019 ample winter rains provided welcome saturation for the soils, followed by a cool spring. This delayed flowering and fruit set slightly, coming one to two weeks later. The long, warm summer saw very few extreme heat events, with foggy mornings setting the stage for vibrant and expressive wines. Continued mild temperatures extended the growing season, preserving freshness and finesse in the wines while teasing out beautiful complexity and balance.
Vineyard
Fruit for the 2019 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.