There are six acres of Carig­nane in our organ­i­cal­ly grown Whale Rock Vine­yard locat­ed in the Tem­ple­ton Gap AVA of Paso Rob­les. One of the most plant­ed grapes in France, it’s used exten­sive­ly for blend­ing because of the nat­ur­al acid­i­ty, bright fruit fla­vors, and full­ness of the mouth­feel. This vari­ety is one of our last to be picked as it slow­ly ripens with the Tem­ple­ton Gap influ­ence. The nat­ur­al acid­i­ty and sup­ple tan­nins make this a great wine to enjoy with a meal and it ages very gracefully.

The 2020 Carig­nane is a great exam­ple of a wine­mak­ing approach we take on cer­tain vari­eties. It was fer­ment­ed in our tra­di­tion­al man­ner and allowed to express its inher­ent char­ac­ter­is­tics. Only then were deci­sions made on how to best let the vari­etal char­ac­ters devel­op. As a result, the fer­men­ta­tion on skins last­ed 14 days before press­ing. After set­tling and clar­i­fi­ca­tion, the wine aged 15 months in small Amer­i­can oak bar­rels. Patience is reward­ed with this vari­ety. Its rus­tic, earthy nature that accom­pa­nies the bright aro­mas and crisp struc­ture is noteworthy.