Vineyard: Shake Ridge

AVA: Amador County, CA

Farming: Organic

Harvest Date: Handpicked on 27 September 2022

Bottling Date: 15 August 2023

Alc: 13%

Cases: 100

My second year working with Ann Kraemer at Shake Ridge, and my first with her Mourvèdre.  A new variety for Emme, Mourvèdre (at least from Shake Ridge) is dark and slightly wild, but with a good acidity that maintains freshness.

I split the fruit into 2 portions, both of which I foot crushed and fermented whole cluster.  The first portion was pressed off after 5 days on skins, and the second after 9 days on skins.  I kept these separate, let them both finish fermentation in stainless, and then transferred the first portion to neutral oak barriques, and the second to neutral barriques and one puncheon.  All of the vessels aged for 5 months sur lie, at which point I racked the wine off its lees and left it to age another 4 months in barrique and puncheon without lees.

In early August, I racked both portions to tank together to make one blended Mourvèdre for bottling.

Indigenous yeast fermentation.  20 pm SO2 added in November, 10 ppm SO2 at bottling, no other additions, unfined and unfiltered.

‘hasta la raìz’ is a song by Natalia Lafourcade.

Tasting Notes: black cherry and licorice, earthy and dark.