Giusti Ranch: clone 115, Russian River Valley harvested Aug 30th, fermented in stainless steel, and aged in new French Boutes oak for 16 months.
Gap’s Crown Vineyard: clone 828, Sonoma Coast harvested Sept 22nd, fermented in wood open top and aged in one year old French Remond oak for 16 months.
Keefer Ranch: clone Pommard 4, Russian River Valley harvested Sept 30th, fermented in concrete tanks and aged in new French Gamba oak for 16 months.
Walala Vineyard: clone 828, Sonoma Coast harvested Sept 12th, fermented whole cluster in 1 ton bin and aged in concrete egg for 16 months.
HARVEST September 10 – October 10, 2013
FERMENTATION 5-ton open tops / 5 day cold soak / 14 day average ferment / 100% de-stemmed
ALCOHOL 14.5%
pH 3.66
TA 5.75 g/L
BOTTLING DATE February 16, 2015
AROMA
Raspberry, Bing cherry and vanilla cola aromatics lead the nose and are harmonized with a refined spiciness.
PALATE
Delicate and balanced, with opulent plum and juicy raspberry fruit converging to complete a seamless flavor experience. Structured tannins are on the forefront leading to a sustained and unctuous finish.
Unshackled from geographic constraints, this is a wine that comes straight from the heart of our winemaking team. A blend of four special barrels, each from one of four vineyards that seemed to shine the most in 2013. 4-Barrel is a singular wine, the components of which change each year but whose promise and reason for being remain the same—a winemaker’s pledge to unearth a remarkable story from each vintage. Simply the best blend we can craft from four special barrels representing four special vineyards.
The task for this wine is great: selecting just 4 barrels from the myriad 120 individual lots we nurtured in 2013 was hard. Finding the right quartet that sang together in just the right harmony was even harder. We make this wine with no vineyard or appellation restrictions. The gloves are off and the goal is to make something truly special and unique.
Fact of Note: 25% concrete egg aged.
With soaring aromas and pure, exquisite flavors, these are incredible wines from a not-to-be-missed vintage.
– Julien Howsepian
