Vineyard Notes
The 2021 Messer comes from Estate block 3 and 5. These are as close to "flat" as our property gets, offering richer topsoil than our chalkier blocks. This gives a bit more nutrients for vigorous growth and ample canopy to ripen these thick skinned and richly tannic Bordeaux varietals. The 2021 vintage was my favorite vintage since 2007. The wines nearly made themselves as most of the usual stresses and pressures you feel during harvest such as ripeness window, tank capacity, extreme temperature events, were completely absent. In their place was mild, long lasting windows of perfect ripeness allowing full, relaxed creative freedom to make the best possible wines you can.
Winemaker Notes
The Cab Franc and Malbec were picked the same day, thus processed and blended together for this wine. Hand picked clusters were destemmed without crushing and transferred to 4.5 ton open top concrete tanks. A mix of pump over and delestage gently extracted the juice from the berries and the lots were pressed after 14 days on skins. The combined free run and press wine was allowed to settle for 48 hours then transferred to 40% new French oak barrels for 20 months of aging.
Food Pairing Notes
I am a big proponent of Malbec on the Central Coast of California, as it not only produces a beautiful wine, the vine itself thrives here. It simply belongs here. And to drive that point home even more is how perfectly this wine pairs with our un-official "official" regional food, the Santa Maria Grilled Tri-Tip sandwich. A true Central Coast Tri-Tip Sandwich only has 3 elements. The open oak fire Grilled Tri-Tip steak, toasted sourdough loaf with ample butter, and a simple fresh Pico De Gallo. Those three together, like peanut butter and jelly, form a culinary endpoint that no further addition can improve. This is the perfect wine for that sandwich
Other Notes
70% Malbec, 30% Cab Franc
