TASTING NOTES
As in past vintages, we aged the 2019 Fluffy Billows in French oak barrels of just under two years, an approach that always complements the firm, cellar-friendly structure of our Oakville Cabernets. The deeply colored wine from this near-perfect vintage is a combination of spicy cherry and cassis notes on the nose and rich, blackberry-black currant fruit on the palate. Complex notes of cedar and cooking spice mingle elegantly with the abundant fruit. Right through its long finish, bright acidity balances the whole framework of fruit and tannin. Our '19 Fluffy Billows is a wine that will certainly continue to evolve in the cellar for a decade or two, but it also produced with immediate enjoyment in mind.
VINEYARD NOTES
2019 was fashionably late to the party. We had late rain in the Spring which saturated the soils and slowed bud break. Vigorous shoot growth early in the Summer initially suggested we would get back on schedule, but we settled in for a long cool summer. These late vintages make winemakers very nervous because rain can loom in late October. The Fall stayed remarkably dry, and all the grapes were picked and even fermented before the first storms. 2019 saw some of the longest hang times I can remember. That extra time on the vine developed grapes bursting with flavor and the Fluffy was no exception.WINEMAKER NOTES
The Cabernet fruit was hand-picked into macro bins, then sorted and-stemmed and crushed into stainless steel tanks. Cold soaking was carried out over 24 hours, and the must was inoculated and pumped over one to three times per day, then pressed before finishing primary fermentation. Once dry, the wine was racked to barrel and inoculated for malolactic fermentation. It was racked again at the conclusion of secondary fermentation and twice more before bottling. Though it was filtered, owing to its time in barrel, fining was not necessary.OTHER NOTES
This will be the last vintage of Fluffy Billows released until Fall 2024 so make sure to stock up now!Recent
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