Emergent Truth

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes

White pepper, allspice, and freshly ground cardamom juts from the glass. This wine is extroverted. Where rich rhubarb nonchalantly hugs the thick spice, the acid lifts and the tannins give foundation. It's meaty, fruity, spicy and floral all at once. Grenache has an ability to bring to the table everything I love about all wines…in one glass. It is just that gorgeous and delicious.

This wine works with most foods you will throw at it. This should be your "go to" red wine from CHIRON.

Drink Now-2028

Winegrowing Approach

Grenache is both challenging and rewarding because the resulting wine is so transparent to each winemaking and vineyard decision. These grapes were picked when tannins were rounded, but ample to create a firm structure. Whole cluster fermentation provides structure, flavor and aromas. We gently de-stemmed the remaining clusters to avoid crushing the berries.  To optimize color extraction, we chilled the juice and skins for five days prior to starting fermentation which we allowed to progress with its naturally occurring yeast. For further extraction during fermentation we applied punch-down, pump-over, and rack-and-return techniques.  After fermentation, we drained the "free run" wine into once-used French oak puncheons and gently pressed the remaining wine into brand new puncheons. We continued to stir the lees weekly.  After malolactic fermentation was complete we moved the wine, with its lees, to a neutral puncheon.  Eighteen months later we carefully bottled this beautiful Grenache.

Technical Information

• Elevation: 1300 feet at Stagecoach and 350 feet at Slide Hill

• Soil: Hambright Complex at Stagecoach and Chamise Soils at Slide Hill

• Slope and Aspect: South-West Facing, 5-10% slope at Stagecoach; West Facing, 10-15% Slope at Slide Hill

• Farming: Sustainable at Stagecoach; Biodynamic at Slide Hill; all Meticulous and by Hand

• Harvest: Both vineyards were harvested on October 29th, 2017 and both came in at 27.4 brix

• Fruit Processing: First 50% of the Slide Hill was sorted wholecluster and gently foot stomped into a bin, the other 50% was destemmed on top. (separated stems were kept in a bin for later). The Stagecoach fruit was sorted and destemmed while layering in the stems from Slide Hill that were kept.

• Fermentation: Both bins went through a 5 day cold soak, 6 day fermentation, 13 day post-dry maceration. Each wine was lightly pressed separately straight to barrel

• Aging: Once used French oak Puncheons (500 liter) for 18 months, racked once for blending after six months

• Blend: 65% of the wines is from Stagecoach and 35% from Slide Hill Vineyard

• Production: 137 dozen bottled May 26th, 2019, not fined nor filtered

• Alcohol: 14.6%