2024 divergent vine
“Vue Dorée” Estate Pétillant Rosé
Rosé of Tempranillo | Viognier
Bubbles, Inspired by the Sunset
Tasting Notes
Our tasting room has amazing views of the surrounding Sierra Nevada foothills, perched high atop a ridgeline at 2,700’. This view is accentuated by the orange, pinks and yellows at everfall, that moment just after the sun sets. “Vue Dorée” or Golden View is a (slightly) sparkling rosé inspired by sharing beautiful moments with friends and family. Comprised of mostly estate Rosé of Tempranillo with just a touch of perfume from our Gold Dust Vineyard Viognier, Vue Dorée is opens up with aromas of blood orange, wrapped in vibrant flavors of passion fruit, white peach, and freshly squeezed grapefruit bathed in zippy, fizzy bubbles.
Winemaking
Blend: 85% Tempranillo Rosé, 15% Viognier
Harvest: Grapes were destemmed and pressed off into stainless steel barrels (Tempranillo) and Old French Oak (Viognier) where it underwent native fermentation and extended lees aging for six months before being bottled without fining or filtration.
Aging: 6 months in stainless steel and old French Oak barrels
Yeast: Indigenous
Bottled without fining or filtration.
Ingredients: Organic grapes, indigenous yeast, 15ppm SO2 at bottling.
Production: 67 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 2024 vintage was marked by a cool Spring with two snowfalls, and a late start to the growing season. The weather warmed up significantly in July, with a 10 day heat wave during the first part of the month. This head kickstarted verasion and left behind some sunburn damage in the vineyard. Once the damaged fruit was dropped, August cooled down significantly (not one day over 100 degrees!) which flowed into Septemeber, given us the benefit a little extra hang time for sugar and phenolic development.
Varietals
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, making our Tempranillo uniquely suited for acid-driven, fruity rosé.
Viognier is an aromatic white wine grape nagive to the Condrieu region of the Northern Rhône of France. Known as a varietal with great flavors but often lacking structure, our estate fruit is planted on a north-facing slope, pointing away from the sun, creating great sugar diversity during ripening, making our Viognier uniquely complex with both great aromatics and structure. This combination of generous aromatics, body, and structure (when picked at the right time), make it a perfect pairing with this crab, oysters, white fish, and soft/fatty cheeses.