2020 Mourvèdre
Vogelzang Vineyard
Santa Barbara County
Alc. 12.5 % by vol.
The Vintage:
Overall we saw a typical growing season, until late August early September, which began a series heat waves. The fruit was pretty resilient and was able to handle the heat. Hand picked at night at 22 Brix.
The Process:
The grapes were hand harvested at night and brought to the winery in the early morning. We de-stem the fruit into steel open top fermenters. Cold soak for a day, as we begin punchdowns at the first signs of natural termination occurring. Punchdowns twice a day for three weeks until Wine is basically dry. Rack the free run juice and press out the remaining juice from the skins. Juice will then age in neutral oak for 16 months. Wine was racked three times throughout its aging to give some oxygen to the wine and get it off it's gross lees (first racking). Racked to tank prior to bottling, bottled unfined and unfiltered. Small doses of SO2 were used during Barrel aging and just prior to bottling.
The Wine:
First hits you with a touch funk with fresh red berries, it all opens up in a couple minutes. The fresh fruits also hit on the pallet, with a nice kick of freshness, aka acid. But not to be outdone, there's still a nice tannin structure to hold everything together. Overall tastes great now, or you can keep the bottle open for a day or two, or even wait a couple years to open. All are solid bets! We like to drink a lot of our wine young, lots of fruit and freshness. Bing cherry, raspberry jam, fresh chopped bark, fleshy, juicy
Additional Notes:
Not your Uncles Mourvèdre, lighter and fresher styled. Less ink and more to drink!