2018 Demostene Ranch

Deep ruby in color with plum, violets, clove spice, and notes of fresh tarragon. Red currant and cocoa on the palate with hints of vanilla on the nice long warming finish. MB (2/22)

This wine comes from a small block on the historic Sausal Ranch in Alexander Valley. Planted over one hundred years ago, half of the vines are zinfandel and half are carignane. In 2018, the zinfandel set a larger crop than the carignane, which resulted in a more full-bodied wine. Enjoyable on release, it will continue to develop over the next six to seven years. JO (2/20)

Born in Italy, Manuel Demostene moved to Healdsburg in 1902 where he found work on Santo Botti’s ranch. Santo died the next year and in 1906 Manuel married his widow, Julia, taking possession of the ranch. Around the same time, Abele Ferrari arrived from Italy and purchased what is now known as the Healdsburg Machine Shop. In 1925, he purchased the run down Soda Rock Winery, refurbishing it after prohibition. Abele’s daughter, Rose, married Manuel’s son, Leo in 1936 and they later helped run Soda Rock while raising four children on the property. The couple bought the 113 acre Sausal Ranch in 1956 and continued to buy more nearby land for their two sons, Ed and David. This wine comes from vines planted over one hundred years ago on Ed’s original twenty-five acres. Ed, who passed away in 2015, taught his daughter Leisa everything he knows about growing grapes. Leisa and Ward continue the family legacy, giving special attention to that block of old vine zinfandel and carignane.

Rainfall: 22 inches (below normal)
Bloom: May
Weather: Winter rains were light this year. Rains in April and May helped the vines get through the summer.

Harvest Dates: 12 & 14 September
Grapes: Average Brix 24.6˚
TA: 6.23
pH: 3.57
Fermentation: Grapes destemmed and crushed, pumped over a floating cap twice daily. Pressed at fourteen days.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (15% new, 20% one year-old, 20% two years-old, 25% three years-old, 10% four years-old, and 10% five years-old).
Aging: Fourteen months in barrel

Hand-harvested grapes fermented on the indigenous yeast, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring malolactic bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 43 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.

Average Rating: 90.1

No. of Tasting Notes: 17

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