Year three of a record breaking drought. It’s never easy farming without irrigation. Ask a farmer. Add drought to the equation, and you have a recipe for stress. For the farmer and the grapevine.
As it turned out, my stress was unnecessary (usually the case), the vines grew a deeper root system, produced a smaller crop, and harvest came early. All good things from a winemaker's viewpoint!
Grenache; the Zinfandel lovers' Pinot Noir...
"Leading in with strawberry and cherry, it typically heads for France with tobacco and leather, spice and earth. Those flavors somehow work incredibly well together."
Those were the early tasting notes after barrel aging for 18 months in French oak. What notes will you find after three years of aging in-bottle?