A Donkey and Goat Winery

Vintage: 2009 \| 2010
Appellation: Alexander Valley Vineyard: Oak Valley Varietals: Carignane Clone: n/a Age: 120+ years Elevation: 800 feet Soil: Decomposed sandstone & loamy clay Yield: 1-1.5 tons/acre		Harvested: Oct 2, 2010 Pressed: Oct 21, 2010 Blend: 100% Carignane Maceration: 19 days Barrel aging: 10 mos. in neutral FO barrels Bottled: Unfiltered on August 17, 2011 Production: 75 cases Release date: Fall 2011

A friend offered us these 120 yr old Carignane vines in late summer and we simply could not resist. Not having made Carignane before we were not sure what to do so we followed our general regimen for making red wines with close monitoring. Meaning we sorted and de-stemmed into our open top wood vats. From there a light foot stomping and then nothing. We added nothing at the vat and let the wild yeast start fermentation naturally which occurred on day 4. Once going, we punched down by hand 2-3x/day until at day 15 we began to worry about the tannins being too strong so we pressed off to neutral FO barrels where fermentation continued until dryness and then through MLF. The wine was racked for the first time in July 2011 for our August bottling.

Bright red fruits led by cherry mingle with spice, floral and meaty notes. A medium body with more lush red berry, surprising minerality and a lingering finish. This wine will shine from pizza to skirt steak to a hearty stew.