Wine Notes
Vintage:
2024
Appellation:
Shenandoah Valley, Sierra Foothills, CA
History:
Verdelho hails from the islands of Madeira, due west of Morocco, and was widely cultivated as early as the 1600’s. Its exact origin remains a mystery; it may have originated on Madeira itself. By 1872 Verdelho constituted two-thirds of the island’s vineyards. Originally, it was used to make Madeira’s famous sweet dessert wines along with the Bual, Malvasia, and Sercial varieties. In time, Verdelho became the most widely planted white variety within the DOC region. It was taken to the Azores, Australia, and Portugal and has been re-born in California as a zesty, layered, and dry table wine.
Vineyards:
Verdelho has small, open clusters with petite, oval-shaped berries that yield good concentration. It is one of a handful of white wine varieties that do well in warm macroclimates and can develop multilayered fruit profiles while retaining acidity. We have discovered such terroir in the Sierra foothills: Bart’s Vineyard, in the gold rush town of Plymouth, at 1600’ owned by Ann and Richard Bartolotti. It is a 1.5-acre block on red iron containing granitic soils that produce zesty and complex wines. Ken Johnson (no relation!), Ann’s grandson, meticulously farms the vineyard. The trellis is VSP which allows dappled sunlight to the fruit in conjunction with morning side leaf-pulling.
Vintage:
Finally, after several odd seasons, we had “close to normal” rainfall of 25 inches. Spring weather was also “normal” and the vines set a good crop with both growers and wineries very pleased. Summer sunshine was warmer than usual but without heat spikes. Harvest was a bit early and progressed “normally” with no negative weather events.
Fermentation & Aging:
The grapes were picked on August 23, two weeks earlier than 2023. The Brix was 24.1° with pH of 3.79 and total acid of 6.3g/L. The juice was fermented in stainless steel, using X5 yeast, until dry, then transferred with the lees to neutral French oak barrels to receive sur lie aging for 45 days. The wine was bottled on December 18, 2024.