2019 C GhostMondeuse

Is there any wine grape more punk rock than Mondeuse? Dark as night with face-melting tannins, and singing with unapologetic aromatics of dark fruit compote, lilac, turned loam, black licorice and sandalwood incense that hit like a Marshal stack turned to 11. Despite the heavy-metal vibes, it is light in body and sails across the palate like a crowd surfer. Live wire acidity will keep this demon alive and evolving for decades to come. Manzanita, blue and black fruit preserves freshened with menthol and splashed with soy sauce on a backbone of iron, metal and blood.

The Mondeuse we cultivate was propagated with cuttings provided by Carole Meredith and Steve Lagier, who have been longtime champions of this oft overlooked variety which has a history in California stretching back to the mid 1800s. The combination of limestone, elevation, and the cold nights at Rorick Heritage Vineyard produce fruit with depth, texture, and brilliant natural acidity; minimal handling in the winery allows for an honest and pure expression of site and variety to shine through. 

In 2019 our Mondeuse was hand-picked and fermented in a single open-top vessel with 100% stem inclusion; vigorous pigeage was undertaken to break up the clusters upon reception. The must received pigeage and/or punchdowns twice daily; fermentation lasted 14 days at which time the wine was pressed down to neutral 227L barriques. The wine was racked off lees at 16 months and saw a total of 5 years elevage. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.