2022 Conduit Fair Play - El Dorado Co. Grenache Noir
Made to Chill
Tasting Notes
A perfect Grenache for Pinot drinkers, this chillable red wine is bursting with aromas of potpourri, baking spice and light white pepper, leading into fruit flavors of bing cherries, red currant, pomagranate and cranberry. It's delicious, it's versatile, and we have paired with anything from pizza to duck to grilled chicken, hambergers, and vegetables...the fresh acidity and light tannin finish would even hold up to red meats like Hanger Steak and Filet Mignon. We recommend you serve with a slight chill.
Winemaking
Harvest: 1/2 of the grapes were put into large T-bins whole cluster, the remaining half were de-stemmed on top, creating a partial carbonice maceration fermentation environment. Grapes were foot stomped daily until native ferment started breaking down the grapes enough to do daily punchdowns.
Aging: 9 months in old French Oak barrels
Yeast: Indigenous
Bottled without fining or filtration
Winemaker Notes
Fair Play Viticultural Area
Located in southern El Dorado County, the Fair Play AVA is one of the smallest viticultural areas in California, also boasting one of the highest elevations as well, with nearly all grapes grown between 2,000’ - 3,000’ elevation. The combination of high elevation plantings with the granitic and loam soils produce world-class wines with both complexity as well as lively structure.
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
I have always loved the diversity of wines my from Grenache. The grape produces amazing rosé as well as a light structured reds to be enjoyed on their own or as a great blending element with a number of other wines. After moving to Fair Play in 2020, I found a private vineyard with the Tablas Creek clone of Grenache, which originated in the Southern Rhône and makes extremely expressive wines, .