WINEMAKER’S NOTES

The blend for the 2022 Creative Impulse is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon and 32% Merlot, all from DuBrul Vineyard. Deep ruby-purple color with a complex, multilayered bouquet of blackberry, black plum, cassis, gravel, dark chocolate, thyme, wild sage, and nutmeg. Lively acidity and silky tannins on the palate with well delineated notes of cassis, blackberry, smoldering incense, aged cigar tobacco, espresso, and herbes de Provence. Beautifully balanced showing exceptional elegance and finesse. Finishes very long with notes of cassis, pencil lead, smoldering incense, and forest floor. Properly cellared, this wine will gracefully evolve for 20+ years and should reach maturity in 8-10 years.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

The wine had a pre-fermentation maceration average of 138 hours and a post-fermentation maceration average of 110 hours. Native fermentation was used on all the lots. The wine was punched down by hand 2 times each day during macerations and fermentation. All individual wine components, including free run and press fractions, were kept separate until final blending. The oak profile is 60% new French oak (predominantly from Troncais and Alliers) and 40% neutral French oak. The wine had an elevage of 24 months in oak and was racked three times but not fined. The wine was very lightly filtered to capture any remaining lees. The alcohol is 14.9%, pH is 3.76, and the titratable acidity is 5.9 g/L.

CASES PRODUCED   74

VARIETALS   68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot

APPELLATION   DuBrul Vineyard