Details
- Varietal: Merlot, Cabernet Franc
- Style: Red
- Region: California, United States - Santa Barbara County
- Notes: Precise, focused mix of dried berry, currant, and black cherry notes.
- Producer: Westerly Wines
Pairings:
Chicken and other light meats as well as lightly-spiced dark meats.
Story:
AVA: Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara
COMPOSITION: 74% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc
WINEMAKING NOTES: The fruit for this wine came off of two different vineyards in the Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA. The Merlot is planted on a steep hilside in the easternmost part of the canyon, which is riddled with cobble and serpentine, whereas the Cabernet Franc grows on the crest of a southwest-facing hill with rich, clay loam soils. Harvested by hand in late October of 2012, the grapes were hand sorted, destemmed, and fermented as whole berries in small, open-top stainless steel fermenters. The wine was drained and pressed after 24 days on the skins, and the wine was filled into 225 liter French oak barrels, 60% of which were new. Malolactic fermentation took place in barrel. The wine was racked to blend after 12 months, and remained in barrel for a total of 26 months. Bottled unfined & unfiltered.
TASTING NOTES: The 2012 Westerly Red presents a precise, focused mix of dried berry, currant, and black cherry notes. This is a balanced and finely-layered wine, with a rich, yet firm, tannin structure that fans out across the palate. Will drink at its peak from 2014 to 2018.
CASES BOTTLED: 1940
RELEASE DATE: August 2014
92 Points! - Wine Enthusiast