After careful hand harvesting, the grapes are de-stemmed and subject to a gentle crush. The must is cooled to 15°C en route to the fermentation tanks, which are equipped with computer-controlled punch-down blades to ensure ideal extraction of color, flavor and tannins. A 3- to 4-day cold maceration precedes fermentation, with a total maceration of approximately 3 weeks to preserve the pronounced fruit and herbal character of the grapes and appropriate tannin levels to sustain a decade or longer of bottle aging. 100% new, fine-grained French oak barrels are used in the 18-20 month barrel maturation that ensues.
Food pairing
Goes well with red meats, game, hearty and exotic stews and casseroles.
