Dead Canyon Ranch Red Blend

Description

WINEMAKERS NOTESAromas of black berry and blue berry jam with hints of ripe plums, sage, sweet smoke, and vanilla lend to a balanced silky midpalate.VINEYARD SOURCINGThe fruit for this wine is grown at our acclaimed Estate vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hils. The fruit is exposed to dappled sunlight, allowing for uniform ripening and flavor development. Well balanced crop levels have allowed us to create wines with great depth and concentration..GROWING SEASONThe 2017 vntage started in early September, which is what we typically expect. The past 4-5 years have brought grapes in as early as the middle of August. The warm days and cool nights of September gave us ample fruit flavor development balanced with bright acidity. Some cold events in mid-October denitely put the pressure on to get fruit o the vines. Despite the cool spell, our fruit had plenty of time to ripen, developing intense flavors and dusty tannins.WINEMAKINGThese grapes were sorted in the vineyard with the selective harvest on our Pellenc harvesters. The fruit was not crushed in order to preserve as much whole-berry as possible. At the winery, individual lots were fermented in stainless steel tanks. Twice daily pump overs allowed gentle extraction of color and tannins. 16 month barrel aging in 25% New American Oak. – Mercer Estates