Mascot

After a vintage full of changing conditions and demanding decision points, the steady and pleasant progress of the 2018 vintage occasionally left our team in limbo. Contradictory as it may seem, the dramas that sometimes punctuate the definitive months of the growing season help frame the winegrowing team’s course of action. However, the tranquil succession of weeks that unfolded between spring and fall in 2018 left the question of when to harvest almost entirely open. Healthy rainfall in March and April preceded a benevolent summer, whose mildness was interrupted only briefly by a few warming periods. The fruit from the young vines maintained a measured balance, providing little indication that harvest was imminent. In September, relying more on instinct than empirical cues, we began to pick. This judgment, along with the gentle nature of the season, is confirmed in the subtle, ethereal power of the vintage. It reveals itself first in the deep, brooding aromas of dark fruit, black tea, and herbal notes. The texture expands around a lifted structure, as powdery tannins gently resolve. This diffused, enigmatic softness is anchored on the mid-palate by a gratifying density, preparing the senses for a flourish of hidden energy and vivid detail that illuminates the finish.