2022 divergent vine
Clarksburg Malbec
The Lighter Side of Malbec
Tasting Notes
This wine is everything you love about Malbec delivered in a light, fresh package, creating a familiar yet unique experience for this rare grape to find in California. The ‘22 Malbec opens with aromas of dark cherry and wet leather, which persist through the palate into high toned flavors of raspberry, wild blackberry, finishing off with the lightest of tannin and loads of fresh, food-friendly acidity.
Winemaking
Harvest: The Malbec was de-stemmed into large S-bins creating a partial carbonic maceration fermentation environment. Grapes were foot stomped daily until native ferment started breaking down the grapes enough to do daily punch downs.
Aging: 14 months in old French Oak barrels
Yeast: Indigenous
Bottled without fining or filtration. 15ppm SO2 at bottling
Production: 120 cases
Ingredients: Organic grapes, Indigenous Yeast, 15PPM SO2 at bottling to protect the wine for aging.
Winemaker Notes
Clarksburg Viticultural Area
Clarksburg is located just south of Sacramento along the Sacramento River Delta waterways. The vines are planted along the well-draining sandy loam soils of the region. While the Central Valley can get very hot during the day, the Delta Winds and river influence cool the region down significantly at night, allowing for cohesive ripening of acids with grape’s sugars and creating wines of significant structure and finesse.
Vintage
The 2022 vintage was marked by a late start with cool weather (and even a few snows!) into April and early May. The weather warmed up as August arrived and featured several extended heat streaks, which made it challenging to forecast appropriate picking times. That said, overall the 2022 wines show tremendous aromatics, structure, and depth.
Varietal
Malbec is a grape of French origin popularized in Argentina and known for creating wines of exceptional fruitiness while retaining savory notes and significant structure. Our ‘22 Malbec, however, can be more likened to its French counterpart (namely from Cohors), which emphasize a savory and tart fruitiness, rather than overly jammy and overripe fruit.