2021 divergent vine “Gold Dust Vineyard” Estate Tempranillo
Classic Tempranillo Characteristics, Delivered Differently
Tasting Notes
Our Tempranillo is planted in the coolest part of the Gold Dust Vineyard, in what we affectionately refer to as “the bear block,” as our local community of big furries likes to munch on these grapes as they begin to ripen. If we are able to pick the grapes before they eat all our fruit, our Tempranillo makes amazing structured, food-friendly wine marked by flavors of tomato leaf, plumb, dried fig and rolling tobacco. As you might imagine, Tempranillo makes a great food pairing with traditional Paella, but also sings with steak, burgers, Italian food with tomato-based sauces, and tacos.
Winemaking
Harvest: Our Tempranillo grapes were de-stemmed into large T-bin fermenters, where the grapes underwent a three week native fermentation. The wine was then pressed off into 80% old French Oak barrels and 20% old American Oak barrels as a little nod to Spanish Rioja production, which regularly uses American Oak to age their Tempranillo.
Aging: 14 months in old French Oak barrels
Yeast: Indigenous
Bottled without fining or filtration. 15ppm SO2 at bottling to protect the wine for long term aging.
Production: 74 cases
Winemaker Notes
Gold Dust Estate Vineyard
Our Gold Dust Estate Vineyard is situated on a ridge line high in Southern El Dorado County. Planted in 2000 at 2,700’ elevation, the 100% decomposed granite on the property produce wines of particular complexity and structure. Our Primitivo is planted in the smallest block on the vineyard, generally yielding only about 100 cases each year. The Primitivo block is on a slight south and west facing slope leading to a slight difference in ripeness from the northernmost to southernmost situated rows. The diversity in the grape development yield a wine that has generous aromatics, while finishing off with significant body structure, and complexity.
Vintage
The 2021 vintage was marked by a long, warm growing season, which persisted through August. Our Tempranillo was picked in mid-September as the weather began to cool from the extreme heat of August.
Varietal
Tempranillo derives its name from the Spanish word “temprano,” meaning “early” as the grape is known for its tendency to, you guessed it, ripen early. The grape is the number one red wine producer in Spain, but accounts for only a fraction of red wine production in the United States. Despite its reputation for being the first to ripen, it is planted in the coldest block of our Gold Dust Vineyard, making it almost always the last of our fruit that we pick every year.