Virtue and Vice

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes

“Virtue and Vice” jumps out of the glass with nutty jamon, fig, dried red plums, and the typical cassis; accompanied by bright pepper with a touch of high toned bay leaf. There is a mineral focus to the aromas as if they were all muddled together in a schist bowl. Bright ruby coats the glass almost looking viscous. On the palate, however, the wine is lively and never cloying. Its fleshy mid-palate repeats the black currant and lovely plum flavors, but with a linear focus. Finishing with mocha, espresso flavors, muddled blueberries and a touch of fine tannins.

Although drinking wonderfully now, it will reward the patient drinker after decanting the wine for half an hour or, alternatively, letting it age for another year before opening.

Best from Now-2028

Winegrowing Approach

At Chiron we have created wines that express a particular vineyard and vintage. For our 2016 “Virtue and Vice”, we altered this approach and combined wines to create a blend with a wonderful warmth and smoothness while being bright and vibrant. We see this wine as a way to diverge from our single vineyard approach to winemaking, because some of the best wines in the world are blends. For the 2016 vintage we joined together 3 wines, 57% Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain, 38% Merlot from Howell Mountain, and 5% Petite Sirah.

Technical Information

• Elevation: Hillside to Mountain from 400 feet to 2100 feet in elevation

• Soil: Alluvial Mayacamas loam for the Cabernet, decomposed volcanic ash for the Merlot and crushed granite and bedrock, no top soil for the Petite Sirah

• Farming: Sustainable, organic practices, all by hand

• Aging: 100% French Oak, 20% new for 28 months

• Production: 70 dozen bottled January 9th, 2019; neither fined, nor filtered

• Alcohol: 14.6%