The 2022 Highlawn Wine Company Spring release is now available! This time around, we’re featuring 3 fabulous new wines and 2 cellar-diving verticals for you.
I’m excited to be able to get these wines in your hands, straight from San Francisco. Read all about the new wines in the online store and below.
The new releases
The 2020 vintage was incredibly difficult for California and the whole world. At Highlawn, we got incredibly lucky. All our wines were spared from any smoke taint, despite terrible air quality as we slept in the back of a box truck as a COVID precaution for the Albariño pick, despite ash falling as we picked the Zinfandel. The grapes were safe and sound, the wines stayed untainted and fermented easily. I’m incredibly thankful for all the farmers, vineyard workers, cellar workers, harvest interns, and winemakers who helped us get through the tough year.
2020 Albariño, Rorick Vineyard, Calaveras County
Farming: Organic, non-certified Harvest date: August 22, 2020
The 2020 Albariño was whole cluster pressed and fermented with naturally occurring yeast in neutral barrels. The wine was aged in neutral oak barrels. The wine went through full malolactic fermentation and was left to age on its lees for 7 months. The wine was racked off the lees the week before bottling. No additions other than SO2 were used.
The 2020 vintage of Albariño leans into the citrusy side of the grape, with lemon, spiced quince, and white flowers on the nose. The acidity leaves the wine with crispness, while the malolactic fermentation and lees contact provide a breadth and depth on the palate.
This wine drinks great now, but experience shows it will age gracefully over the next 3-5 years.
2020 Zinfandel, Poor Ranch, Mendocino County
Farming: CCOF Organic, dry farmed Harvest date: September 8, 2020
The 2020 vintage was picked with ash falling from the sky in the midst of a heatwave. The grapes were mercifully spared from smoke taint during an incredibly challenging year.
In the winery, the grapes were destemmed to t-bins and fermented with naturally occurring yeast. The grapes were punched down twice daily and were pressed two weeks after harvest. The wine was then aged in neutral oak barrels until the following July. The wine was racked off the lees before bottling. Tartaric acid, water, and SO2 were added to the wine.
This wine is shows what happens with dry farming meets a dry and hot vintage. The fruit is richer and darker than the previous vintage, with lots of vibrant cherry fruit. This wine will be best over the next 3 years.
2018 Petite Sirah, Theopolis Vineyard, Yorkville Highlands
Farming: Organic, non-certified Harvest date: October 28, 2018
The 2018 vintage shows the consistent greatness of this vineyard. This wine presents with a surprising nose of violets - a product of the whole cluster inclusion. The palate presents with blackberry juice and savory herbs like bay leaf. There’s plenty of tannin that’s had a chance to soften from the 21 months of neutral barrel aging and year in bottle. This wine drinks well young and has the structure to age for 6 to 10 years.
The grapes were fermented for 16 days with 50% whole clusters, then aged in neutral oak barrels for 21 months. Tartaric acid and SO2 were added.
Albariño vertical
Special Cellar Selection - Three Vintages of Albariño
Three vintages of Albariño, each with a unique vintage character and some changes in production methodology.
The 2018 is the ripest, took more than one year to ferment, and has a distinct high acidity.
The 2019 is aromatically driven, with ripe stone fruit and white flowers.
The 2020 is palate driven, more citrus, spice quince, and stony.
Petite Sirah Vertical
The 2014, 2016, and 2018 vintages of Theopolis Vineyard Petite Sirah. The wine was produced exactly the same in each vintage, so age and vintage variation become the primary drivers of differences in this vertical. A great way to see how wine ages.
