In 1840 Alexander Valley namesake Cyrus Alexander rode into our valley and called it the "brightest and best spot in the world". He chose this spot to build his home and raise his family, and many years later we would do the same. Our 24th release is our tribute to the man, the region and the very best of the vintage.
The 2018 growing season began a bit cooler than the past few vintages, but we had a near perfect fruit set with moderate summer temperatures and relatively few heat spikes. The mild weather led to a longer hang time, allowing the grapes to ripen slowly with excellent flavors and balanced natural acidity. After harvest each lot was fermented and aged separately for 12 months, blended to showcase the vintage, then aged for an additional 12 months in French oak barrels to meld the flavors. Additional bottle aging resulted in a seamless blend.
The concentrated dark purple color hints at this wine’s complexity. Scents of cassis, black cherry, cedar, dark chocolate, along with notes of vanilla and oak fill the glass. While silky, the 2018 has incredible structure and balance with dark fruit flavors of cassis, black cherry, dark chocolate and barrel spice. As this wine sits in the glass it just keeps building on itself, hinting at the complexity that will occur with additional cellar aging.
This wine is allocated.
Accolades:
2018: 92 points - James Suckling
