2017 Dusi Essence

Deep garnet red color. Aromas of sundried cherries, candied plums, and exotic barrel spice. Opulent entry, black cherries, gravelly earth, full-bodied, lively acid, and a wonderfully long, sweet finish. EB (6/19)

The stressed vines in the canyon were picked at extreme ripeness. The grapes fermented quickly and the still sweet, well-defined, free run was drawn off. The press wine, added back, increased sugar content enough to naturally stop fermentation. Grapes only reach this level of ripeness once every five years on average. This rare wine will be enjoyable over the next fifteen years.

Benito Dusi’s Ranch is the only vineyard in the Central Coast Viticultural Area from which we source grapes. Our Monte Bello vineyards are in the Santa Cruz Mountains Viticultural Area which is not a part of the Central Coast. The 1967 vintage was our first wine from the Dusi Ranch. It was planted to zinfandel in 1922 which is unusual because Prohibition had started two years earlier. Purchased by Sylvester and Catarina Dusi in 1924, the property has been farmed since the 1940s by their son Benito, the owner.

Rainfall: 24 inches (above normal)
Bloom: Late May
Weather: Decent winter rain, totaling over 24 inches. A warm summer followed, ripening the grapes for an early September harvest. The yield was a bit below average but it came in quickly with excellent quality.

Harvest Dates: 8 September
Grapes: Average Brix 38.1˚
Fermentation: 100% natural primary and secondary fermentation; 100% floating cap; pressed at six days.
Barrels: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (60% one and two years old, 40% four years old.)
Aging: Eleven months in barrel

Benito Dusi Vineyard grapes, hand-harvested; destemmed and crushed; fermented on the native yeasts, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring bacteria; oak from barrel aging; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 123 ppm over the course of aging). Pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

See all food pairing recipes we have created specifically for this wine.