2012 Buchignani Carignane

Brought to California from the south of France in the 1870s, carignane originated in Spain hundreds of years earlier. After two unusually cool summers, warm weather returned to Sonoma County in 2012. These old, rugged, head-trained vines set a full crop. The grapes were hand picked in two passes on September 15 and 22. We selected Back Block, with its focused fruit and distinct vineyard character, for this release. Following malolactic, the wine aged for twelve months in air-dried american oak barrels. Redolent of black fruit, this delightful wine will be enjoyable over the next four to five years. JO (8/13)

Stan Buchignani’s ranch is located on Dutcher Creek Road, in the hills on the far western edge of the Alexander Valley appellation. Stan’s grandfather, Dominico Cerruti, first planted a five acre block in 1927; his father, Dino, added seven acres in the 1940’s and planted the last in the early 1950s. The vineyard’s climate bears a strong resemblance to that of upper Dry Creek Valley three miles to the south, where days are quite warm. Fog, which tends to hang low in the valley, burns off sooner in the hills. Carignane from Buchignani is complex, its fine structure much like that of a field-blend zinfandel.

Rainfall: 24 inches (below average)

Bloom: Mid May

Weather: Warm spring and a long warm summer.

Harvest Dates: 15 & 22 September

Grapes: Average Brix 24.6˚

Fermentation: Natural primary and secondary. Pressed at eleven days.

Barrels: Air-dried american oak barrels (20% new, 40% one and two years old, 40% three and four years old).

Aging: Twelve months in barrel

All Buchignani ranch, hand harvested grapes; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by a full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 98 ppm over the course of aging); 0.5 g/L tartaric acid, oak from barrel aging; pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

Average Rating: 89.2

No. of Tasting Notes: 62

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