{ 2022 Red Experiment N7.2 }

Sometimes you need an external frame of reference to reshape ideas or a new conversation to challenge perceptions. With this in mind, we decided to purchase a small amount of fruit from a neighboring vineyard.

First, we walked the rows, scrutinized the clone selection and studied the row orientation and trellis setup – learning the why and how of our neighbor’s site.  Their different approach provides us the opportunity to learn and improve what we do here at the estate. Trellis height has been an aspect of vineyard design that we have been curious about and recent research has demonstrated that raising the trellising height can dramatically cool down the fruit zone, a feature that brings vibrance and freshness to the wine. We chose to examine trellis height with this bottling, our seventh vintage from this neighbor series, using a familiar clone of Cabernet as its core (clone 4), but planted with a higher trellis height than what we have planted at our estate vineyard.

The 2022 Experiment N7.2 reveals fresh aromas of mulberry, black cherry, Asian plum, and violet candies, bolstered by notes of cocoa powder, mint and wet stone. Supple, burnished and vibrant, this neighborly adventure lingers across the palate with great balance and density and will delight for decades to come.