Residual Sugar: 7%
Alcohol Percentage: 18%
Winemaker’s Notes:
“From the old world porto producers comes a tradition that dates back hundreds of years. Topping barrels from the newest to the oldest and bottling from the oldest. The Solera Method ensures that a portion from each vintage in the blend ends up in every bottling… what a way to track a lifetime of wine production.
This wine is a blend of the 2017 through 2019 vintages. It is a combination of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Cab Franc entering the blend in the last couple years.
My preference is chocolate, but my second choice is delicate port and fresh fruit with cheese… for the second, the dessert wine must not be overpowering like a port one would drink with a cigar… but rather elegant and even handed so that the fruit and cheese can be enjoyed as well. It should not be dessert in a glass, but it should accompany dessert.
This is the eleventh lot that we have bottled from our barrels of port.”
Dane Stark, winemaker
Tasting Notes:
With a medium red color and dark center, the first impression is one of youth. Upon inspecting its aroma we realize this wine is of design and in balance. Its nose has ripe fruit, sweet cherry, cedar and currant. The alcohol is evident but subdued and not overpowering.
In the mouth this wine comes to life with a coating sweetness and currants, raisins, cherries and plenty of spice. Remarkably the finish is medium in length, making room for the fresh pear and dried figs, St Ettiene and Goudda cheeses. It refreshes rather than adds weight to the experience, cleaning the palate in preparation for the next bite.
