Bottling the 2019s

Just prior to Memorial Day, we bottled our stellar lineup of 2019 single-vineyard Cabernets, 2019 Lady of the Dead, and 2020 Rose. Winemaker Todd Heth offered some narrative about what bottling is like and a note about the coming wines.

“It’s that exciting, stressful time of year when we can finally gently coax our previous vintage wine from barrel into bottle…this time the 2019s.  After stewarding and watching the wine develop from bud break on the vines, berry and grape cluster development, harvest, crush and then aging in barrel, bottling is the culmination on the winery side.  Getting the boisterous new wines into bottle is a delicate balancing act, from gently moving the wine out of the barrels to making sure all the bottling supplies arrive on time (no small feat due to congested shipping and supplies limitations over the past year).  Bottling days can be fun with an extra crew on hand to help packing, labeling, stacking, and all the extra energy, music, food, and talk.  And there’s the pride of seeing the final package, with shiny new labels coming off the line and putting them into the boxes.

We were happy to taste all of the 2019 vintage wines as we prepared for bottling.  While we monitor and taste all the various barrels often over their life in the winery cave, sometimes they can open up, and things come together as we get them ready to send out to the world.  2019 was a great vintage in terms of fruit purity and depth, and as we were tasting, they struck us as having even more dark fruit and deep tones than we had noticed early on.  Maybe it was because they started out in the shadows of the great 2018 vintage.  But now, they stand tall themselves, having developed deliciously along the way.  Each of the wines has their own different character, and overall the aromatic dark fruits and juicy nature of the vintage are beguiling.  Tasting together in preparation, it was hard not to smile.  All the hard work, effort, and patience have paid off and come to a crescendo.  It looks to be a classic vintage that will please folks, and we look forward to sharing these wines with you.”

Cheers!
Fern & Manny