There’s a brambly note to the blackberry and dark fruit core of this wine, along with hints
of cedar, new leather, Santa Rosa Plum, and dark chocolate. It’s impressively robust and
vibrant on the palate. Great structure and a full body make for a long, powerful and
textured finish.
Vineyard Notes
Adjacent to an ancient volcanic cinder cone and nestled into the remote eastern edge of
High Valley our Volcano Ridge vineyard features steep slopes and strikingly red volcanic
soils. Originally planted in 2003 and 2004, the vineyard totals 85 acres and is planted to
a sizable number of varietals, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Petite Sirah,
Mourvèdre, Grenache and Zinfandel. The vineyard elevation ranges from 1900 ft. to 2200
ft. The volcanic sands and tephra (small, fused sand pebbles) of the Konocti series make
for excellent drainage. Vines struggle in these soils, and the intensity of that struggle is
reflected in the layers of complexity and structure, in the concentrated fruit, and in the
final expression of Volcano Ridge wines.
Production Notes
Suggested Release Date 11/1/2023
Winemaker Notes
At Brassfield Estate, our winemaking emphasizes quality and the use of traditional hand crafted techniques, creating wines that have power and finesse. We harvested our Malbec
grapes in the early morning to maximize quality. We kept our fermentation healthy with
twice daily pump overs. The wine was then barreled down for malolactic fermentation in our
caves. To showcase the fruit and structure of this wine, it was aged for 18 months in 100%
French oak. The wine was stirred monthly on lees to achieve body and texture and was
lightly fined and filtered for bottling.