2018 MALBEC

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.