With its deep ruby red hue and aromas of rhubarb, mint, cinnamon, and toasty French oak, this captivating wine beckons a first sip. Flavors of lush red fruit glide across the palate to a bold yet supple berries and cream finish.
The fruit was gently destemmed into small open-top fermenters, using state-of-the-art equipment and procedures to avoid any pumping of the must. Inoculation with select yeast strains followed a three-day cold soak, and the caps were managed with a combination of pump-overs and punch-downs. The wine was aged for 10 months in 35% new, and 42% one-year-old French oak barrels, with bottling on July 31, 2023.
The 2022 vintage was impacted by a third consecutive year of drought that resulted in a reduction in yields from 10-30%. The growing season was temperate, which in grape growing means we were on track, or ahead of normal growth. Then we saw some heat spikes that prompted our first picks. The grapes from Klopp Ranch were harvested by hand in the cool evening hours of August 25, 2022.
The father-daughter team of Ted and Lauren Klopp have been farming in the Russian River Valley for over two decades. Their home ranch is on Laguna Road, where the vines are tucked away in the nook of a foggy valley. We selected grapes from three different blocks on their ranch planted to three different clones: 115, 777, and Swan. The ground here is fertile Goldridge soils, where the vines produce small, intensely flavorful clusters of grapes.