Fields of Gold

Whelp, we did it.

We got about 30 tons of organic compost cast thoughout the vineyard just in the nick of time. It started raining like hell immediately afterwards. Close call. The last thing we needs is a big tractor stuck in the muck out there.

Next up in the vineyards before we ring in the new year is to do a vine count and continue operation rehabilitation. In the spring we will bring in 2 year old nursery vines to fill in some gaps in the vineyard. 

I was really happy with how the Bunkhouse Block of Syrah performed in the cellar. The Bunkhouse is planted to Shiraz Clone 7 (Australia) and Syrah N Clone 747 (France), whereas the Ledge and Meter by Meter blocks are the Estrella clone, named for the Estralla River plantings of Gary Eberly who supposedly got the source material from the Chapoutier family's Hermitage Vineyard in the Rhône. I may experiment with other clones, depending on what is available for 2 year olds.

In other good news, Ledge made the top 100 wines of the year from critic Jeb Dunnuck, who compiled his list from over 10,000 reviews of wines from all over the world. We ranked 42. 

Pretty cool.

All of the 2019 wines are safely in barrel and taste great. We are a bit more ripe across the board this year with the Adams Ranch Vineyard delivering brix around 27 and both James Berry Vineyard and Bien Nacido coming in over 28. We used a bit more new oak than usual as a result. They will soak it right up and find their zone. I am confident of that.

Excited for 2020!
 

My daughter has a loose tooth. She won't let me pluck it out. Bummer. 

I'm enjoying the rain and my family. 

Are you in need of wine for the Holidays? Visit the Ledge online wine shop and stock up. Some cool verticals up for sale.

Hope this update finds you well. 

Cheerio,

MCA