Aged 17 months in 30% new French oak,
Decanted to aerate for an hour or so. Obviously young, but shows potential for greatness. Could easily benefit from another 15 years of age. The dark color belies the elegance of this wine.
Really delicious Mt. Harlan limestone-grown cherry fruit, balanced acidity, subtle power in the filigreed tannins. Easily mistaken for a 1er Cru from Morey-Saint-Denis in a blind tasting (?). Delicious with pit cooked pork shoulder and pork ribs.
Winemaker Mike Waller decided not to pick when the heat came over Labor Day in 2017. “I know if you pick underripe, you can’t make a good wine. So you just have to go with it when that heat happens. It was 105 degrees here at Mount Harlan for a couple of days, but we hadn’t started picking. Some vines along the Central Coast stalled or shut down. But our vines kept maturing the fruit. I didn’t see anything shift or raisin. It wasn’t that frying heat that the rest of California had.”
