Vineyard Notes: Camino Alto Vineyard is farmed by Ron Mansfield who oversees the vineyards of some of the best wineries in the foothills. His family has been growing grapes, peaches, plums, pears & apples in the foothills for 3 generations. Planted in 1983 with Rhone varieties, the vineyard is on a hillside near Apple Hill. It is on iron-rich volcanic soils & is mostly dry-farmed.
Cellar Notes: We received 2 tons of fruit from different areas of Mansfield’s property - 1 ton Syrah, ½ ton Grenache, ½ ton Mourvedre - hand-harvested on 9/22/20. The fruit was destemmed proportionally into 1-ton bins to create a field blend & left to ferment naturally. Once dry, we then pressed & racked to neutral barrels. The wine was bottled unfiltered & with minimal sulfur additions in July 2022. The final blend is 45% Syrah / 22.7% Grenache / 22.7% Mourvedre / 9.6% Alicante Bouschet.
Tasting Notes: The aromatics are complex & intense, with macerated strawberry, pomegranate, cardamom, allspice & a fun root beer note. The palate is lean & spicy, with black tea, pomegranate & good depth.