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 was cold soaked for 5 days before spontaneously fermenting in two separate lots. The first lot was 50% whole cluster fermentation in open top bins for 19 days before pressing. The second lot was 100% whole cluster fermentation in open top bins for 22 days before pressing. The wine was settled in stainless steel for 2 days before gravity racking to neutral French
225L barrels. Sulfured minimally after malolactic fermentation and adjusted slightly pre bottling.
2020 Mr. Brightside Gamay Noir
$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.