Winemaking: Hand-harvested, clusters were sorted in the
vineyard and then gently destemmed following an evening in our cold
room. All jack stems were removed on the sorting table. Musts were
cold soaked in open-top fermenters for five days, and then inoculated
with cultured yeasts to begin slow fermentation. Each tank was
manually punched down two times per day, with a total maceration
time of sixteen to twenty-eight days. Upon completion of primary
fermenta-tion and maceration, all free run wine was transferred to
tank for set-tling, and then pressed at extremely low pressure (0.08
bars) to avoid extracting bitterness. After settling overnight both freerun and press wineswere racked to barrels. Ten was bottled with no fining and no filtration.
Character: A brooding and intense wine. The aromas begin with
notes of blueberry, cassis, a hint of lavender followed by a myriad of
exotic spices, some hazelnut, thyme and an element of licorice. Firm,
mature tanninsevidence of Tens ageabilityare followed by a long,
velvety finish.