This is just yummy. Loads of bright red fruit. Crushable notes of Dr. Pepper, caramel apple, rosemary, oregano, fresh spices, cranberry, red fruit, blueberry, spiced plum, woody forest. It has a soft finish with light and tannins. If aged properly, Tim has noted it will will become more esoteric and Pinot Noir-like.
This wine is made in open top 1 ton fermenters. 50% whole cluster. 7 day cold soak at 33 degrees. Foot tread for 4 days until fermentation kicks off naturally, then 2-3 weeks on skins before pressing. Pressed into stainless and barreled down with gravity. Filtered prior to bottling. Minimal sulfer before bottling.
2019 Gamay Noir, #9 by Hollyhock Lodge
$25.00
The Gamay for this project comes from the Portico Hills Vineyard is in Los Alamos, which is currently part of the Santa Barbara County AVA. They are working towards their own vineyard designation because of their unique limestone and sand soil. You can read more about the vineyard, the owners and their farming style here. The vineyard is certified sustainable. The Gamay was planted in 2015 so as far as vines go, these are very young, which means you can expect really juicy and high tones, which will become more complex as the vines age. This will be a cool vineyard site to follow since they are farming rather thoughtfully and professionally.
As far as Gamay goes, this is a very small planting of only 1.4 acres. I can’t seem to find exactly how many acres of Gamay are planted in California total because it is lumped with California Gamay on the Ag reports. California Gamay is really Valdiguie, which we will get to later this summer.