2017 Per Ardua, Red Blend

Vineyard

Located near the confluence of the Arroyo Seco and Salinas Rivers at the foot of the Santa Lucia Mountains west of the city of Greenfield, this vineyard produces wines that retain freshness and liveliness that is often lacking in Merlot from warmer climates. While Monterey County is not readily known for producing exceptional Bordeaux varietals, the Kimberly Vineyard has evolved into the exception. This blend is from 21-year-old clone 181 Merlot and Petite Verdot on 110R rootstock vines grown on north / south oriented rows. The vineyard is situated at the mouth of the Arroyo Seco canyon just out of the reach of the intense Salinas Valley winds. Consequently, this microclimate is much warmer than the surrounding properties allowing us to ripen this variety properly. Vines are thinned to one cluster per shoot immediately after bloom to maximize the amount of flavor, structure and aroma precursors Mother Nature can “download” into the berry. Our challenge is to ensure that we can extract all these components during the winemaking process. I hope you will enjoy our efforts!

Winemaking

Our winemaking style, directed by Byron Kosuge, is minimalistic. We endeavor to let the beautiful fruit shine through with limited intervention. The grapes for our 2017 Per Ardua were harvested and hand-sorted in the early morning hours. Primary and malolactic fermentations were carried out with wild, indigenous yeast.