Vintage

Block Thirty-Four was no different form most vineyards in 2016. Growing conditions were nearly perfect and the vineyard produced a beautiful crop with huge clusters, incredible complexity and a lovely acidity. Our goal was to not too force the Grenache into a heavy style by leaving it on the vines past its ideal ripening date. Grenache naturally produces lighter wines with a delicate flavor and crisp acidity and that is a style we prefer. With that in mind I selected a harvest date of September 24th, when the grapes had reached full maturity.

 

Winemaking

The grapes were destemmed without crushing into an open-top fermenter and then cold-soaked at 50 °F for a week to increase flavor complexity and color. The yeast was then added to start the fermentation. I prefer a Grenache that is light in style and showcases the intense flavors of the fruit and with limited oak characteristics. With that in mind, I aged the wine in only neutral French oak barrels for 19 months. The resulting wine is light, delicate, brimming with red fruit flavors and balanced with a bright acidity. This is an extremely limited production wine and only one barrel was bottled. It is a special wine that we will always cherish.