Our tasting notes were very gushy on this wine: “PERFECT ACID!” “Look! Red, black and blue fruit!” “Totally balanced!” “Light but not in a cleaned up and manipulated way!”
This lovely bottling is lightly brambly and woodsy with black cherry, violet, sandalwood, pink peppercorn and pomegranate. The mouth is lean and precious, perfectly in balance. An utter pleasure to consume.
This wine was fermented natively with 20% whole cluster, with one pump over per day and aged in neutral French oak.
2017 Press Gang Mourvèdre
$36.00
LaCerte Vineyard is a 2.1-acre parcel meticulously farmed by Chris King (DDLC, Robert William Ranch, Casa Cassara) of Coscha Farming. It end caps the ridgeline that separate Ballard Canyon and Los Olivos District. The Southernly exposure is perfect for ripening varietals like Roussanne and Grenache. The vines have trellising but are pruned like head trained vines to allow air flow and cover from the sun and planted at a spacing of 6ft between rows and 2.5ft between vines. Due to its close proximity to Ballard Canyon the soils are a mix of calcareous and gravel with old river cobble and some clay content.
Mourvèdre is a historically Spanish variety (where it is called Monastrell or Mataro) known in the US and Australia as it’s French name. Grown in many premium wine regions around the world, the thick skinned grape is marked by aromas of black fruit and violets. It is often thought of as showing notes of iron, though often this is due to it’s reductive nature, and will blow off with a decanting. Often used as a blender with Grenache and Syrah, it shines on its own when given the right growing conditions and care.