2016 - HEDGES - LA HAUTE CUVEE

Varietal: Cabernet Savignon 85.7% | Merlot 14.2%

Tasting notes

This is a complex wine. Earthy blackberry, dried eucalyptus, bay leaf and tobacco leaf makes you think this wine has an earthy, herbal, black fruit character. Which each swirl of the glass it opens up into a realm of cocoa and vanilla sweetness with a bit of graphite, cinnamon stick, freshly grated clove and a touch of cassis. The first sip is soft and it almost tricks you. As the wine hangs on the palate you start to notice an intensity of fruit and a nice touch of rusticity around the edges. This chameleon type of wine is just one of the lovely gifts that biodynamic agriculture brings you. A tasty complexity that changes with each sip and as the bottle opens up to the air. Find some friends, taste this over a few days with different types of food and you’ll really amazed at all the nuances you’ll discover.

Production notes

Grapes are from the Biodynamically farmed Hedges Vineyard and Magdalena Vineyard, which is in the Red Mountain AVA. The wine was destemmed and partially crushed into stainless steel fermenters, where it was allowed to begin fermenting with native yeast. It was pumped over twice daily until desired tannin extraction was achieved. It was then pressed to barrels where it underwent “native” malo-lactic fermentation, then racked off lees and 100% barrel aged for 18 months in 21% new oak, 67% American oak and 33% French oak barrels.