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Sorry, sold out. The 2008 vintage is due for release in 2009. Please subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.
Tempranillo is expressive of site and season, and in 2007 has made a particularly fragrant, soft and elegant style, with plenty of perfumed cherry and black-pastille aroma and a long palate supported by fine tannin.
Within days of our first harvest of Tempranillo (in 2003) we knew we were onto something. The ferment smelled so intoxicating, and so different from the other varieties we make. That is precisely how the wine turned out, and while we only make small quantities, it sells very quickly. The 2003 and 2004 vintages both had a lot of what we call 'perfume'. To some people this is minty or menthol or eucalyptus, and it is possible that this character of the wine relates to a stand of yellow-box adjacent to the vines. To us it is just part of the wine and we love it.
Then, the 2005 vintage was different. The 'perfume' was almost gone, and it showed a more earthy wine with some dried-herb notes, and some people preferred this wine over the previous ones.
With the 2006 and now the 2007, we seem to have arrived somewhere in between - the 'perfume' is not as overpowering as the first vintages, the varietal character has never been more clear, and there is still a bit of earthiness brooding under the surface. We particularly like the extra layer of fruit sweetness in the mid-palate, and this is one of the indicators to us that the variety suits the site. A simple theory: when the variety and the site are working well together, you get a layer of flesh in the mid-palate, and a sense of being effortless, whereas when you have the wrong variety, it is always difficult for the wine not to appear a bit 'pinched'.
Tempranillo 2007 Information Sheet. Cellar Door/Mail Order: $30.
