Best of Class - 2023 Boston Intl. Wine Competition
Tasting Notes
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Intense smells of blueberry pie, red currant, raisins, clove, wooded areas, and sound earthiness. Full bodied with a big mouthfeel. Smooth and opulent tannins provide a perfect balance with acidity while bringing out a soft finish.
About the Vineyard
Vineyard Notes
Margarita Vineyard stands alone as the southernmost vineyard in the Paso Robles region in the new Margarita Ranch AVA. This vineyard is utterly unique in that it receives enough heat to create a Paso Robles Bordeaux varietal with little risk of overheating the grapes. These Malbec vines grow in San Andreas Arujo complex soil with 9 to 15 percent slopes. Block 45 produces Malbec with exquisite fruit composition and organoleptic qualities.
Winemaker Notes
Growing Season
Production Notes
2018 was a challenging growing season in Paso Robles. Lower winter rainfall meant later bud break, and cool weather during flowering extended the bloom period, causing shatter in certain areas. Next was an extended heat wave with forty consecutive days of temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, twenty of those reaching triple digits. Most varieties had more clusters per vine than usual, but smaller cluster sizes and berries lead to excellent quality wines.
Winemaking
Winemaker Notes
The Malbec was destemmed and bin-dumped into a 2,000-gallon open top fermentation tank. It was inoculated with a classic Bordeaux style yeast strain after a four-day cold soak at 38 degrees. During fermentation, the must was regularly pumped from the bottom of the tank over the top of the skin cap to extract maximum color and flavor as well as to aerate. Upon completion of malolactic fermentation, the wine was aged 17 months in medium-toast American oak barrels to give it a classic feel.
Technical Info
Alcohol %
14.4
Production
Harvest Date
15 barrels produced; 10 barrels bottled.
Aging
Aged for 17 months. 20% new American oak Medium Toast, 20% once – filled French oak, 60% neutral barrels.