2015 Lytton Estate House Hill

Intriguing nose of cedar, juniper berry and fig. Full bodied with balanced acidity, plum fruit and notes of coffee and licorice on the finish. JO (7/19)

This wine comes from a one-hundred-fifteen year-old hillside parcel at Lytton Springs. It takes its name from the small house atop the hill around which the vines are planted. Due to the high proportion of petite sirah, the wine from this block is consistently robust and structured. The small crop of 2015 amplified these qualities. This exemplary old vine bottling is appealing now for its dark fruit. It will soften and evolve over ten years.

Rainfall: 33.2 inches (just below average)
Bloom: Mid May
Weather: Very wet December, followed by the driest January on record (0.05″).

Harvest Date: 30 August
Grapes: Average Brix 23.2˚
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed and crushed, pumped over a floating cap once daily, pressed at seven days.
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (15% new, 35% one year-old, 25% two years-old, and 25% three years-old)
Aging: Twelve months in barrel

All estate-grown, hand-harvested organic grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts; followed by full malolactic on naturally-occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur (35 ppm at crush, 94 ppm over the course of aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Average Rating: 90.8

No. of Tasting Notes: 18

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