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TASTING NOTES

Vibrant violet in color with bright, brambly berry scents and a dusting of dried herbs. Supple and serious, the spicy fruitiness is rounded by layered complexity of earth and oak, but fresh and juicy simultaneously. 

VINEYARD NOTES

Majority of the grapes come from our estate vineyards on Seneca Lake where the warmer sites give us riper fruit aromas and flavors. These vineyards were planted in 2010 and 2016 (not in production yet) from original cuttings from Dr. Konstantin’s first plantings in the early 1960’s. The Banana Belt is a portion of land on the east side of Seneca Lake that receives the greatest amount of sun coupled with a location that is nearest the deepest parts of Seneca Lake, thereby having a greater impact on temperature. A small portion of the blend contains grapes from Dr. Konstantin’s original plantings from our Keuka Lake vineyard that are near 60 years old.

WINEMAKER NOTES

Hot and dry is a great way to describe the 2020 growing season. The trend of late bud break continues, beginning in mid-May. A month later in mid-June, most varieties began flowering and fruit set. Between bud break and fruit set, it was warm and dry with only considerable rainfall a handful of times. Throughout the growing season we were blessed with hot and dry conditions. This kept disease pressure very low. Luckily, our old vines are able to withstand drought conditions. The warm and dry weather continued into the fall allowing us to fully ripen grapes well into October. 2020 red wines may be some of the best in recent years.

VARIETY

100% Saperavi.

VINIFICATION

De-stemmed. Several Day Cold Soak.

VESSEL

Open-Top Stainless Steel. Temperature Controlled.

FERMENTATION

Traditional. Twice Daily Pumpovers.

ÉLEVAGE

16 Months 20% New.

ACCOLADES