2019 Adelaida Roussanne

Light gold color. Aromas of ripe apple, peach, orange blossom, and toasted oak. Juicy and tart stone fruit entry, viscous full body, lively acid, deliciously long finish with a mineral aftertaste. EB (6/20)

A long, wet winter continued into spring, restoring lost groundwater from the previous dry year. The vines rebounded, but rain disrupted bloom, reducing yields. Warm summer weather accelerated ripening for a small test pick on September 13. A week later, the rest of the grapes were harvested, perfectly ripened, and having firm acidity. Barrel fermented and aged, this appealing wine is refreshing and can be enjoyed now and over the next two years.

This is our second year producing this beautiful Adelaida Vineyard wine. Paso Robles is the epicenter of new Rhône plantings in California. We are fortunate to be able to source grapes from Adelaida Vineyards, who planted grenache blanc, roussanne, viognier and picpoul blanc among other more established varieties such as grenache noir, syrah and mourvedre (or mataro). Their vineyard lies on the limestone hills of the Adelaida District, thirteen miles from the Pacific coast. Warm days, cool nights and balanced vines promote great acidity in the grapes. This year a wet winter and spring restored lost groundwater from the previous dry year. The vines rebounded, but rain disrupted bloom, reducing yields. Warm summer weather accelerated ripening for a small test pick on September 13. A week later, the rest of the grapes were harvested, perfectly ripened, and having firm acidity. Barrel fermented and aged, this appealing wine is refreshing and can be enjoyed now and over the next two years.

Rainfall: 35 inches (above average)
Bloom: Late May
Weather: Spring was cool and wet, summer had warm to hot days with cool nights.

Harvest Dates: 13 – 18 September
Grapes: Average Brix 23.6˚
TA: 5.90 g/L
pH: 3.47
Fermentation: 100% direct-to-press whole cluster fermentation. Natural primary finished in December 2019, secondary finished by end of March 2020.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (20% one year-old, 20% two years-old, 15% three years-old, and 45% six years-old).
Aging: Eleven months in barrel

Hand-harvested grapes; whole-cluster pressed; fermented on the native yeasts; full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur. Pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.