2019 Two Wolves Cabernet Franc

Winemaking: 13% whole cluster. Native yeast. Hand harvested. We picked on two seperate days (Sept 27 & Oct 14, 2019). The first pick we destemmed the fruit and fermented in our square cement tank. The second pick was whole cluster fermented in stainless steel. After fermentation, both lots were pressed and matured separately in French oak (20% new) before blending and bottling.

Vineyard: Two Wolves Vineyard. Block 9 (0.93 acre) N-S Rows. Santa Barbara County. Planted in 2010 to Clone 623 on Rootstock 101-14. Soil: positas fine sandy loam clay.

Vintage notes: This vintage produced beautiful fruit with a weather pattern that truly felt like a “normal” year. Cabernet Franc loves Two Wolves vineyard, and especially so in 2019. The vines responded well to the cooler year with a beautifully balanced canopy and fruit load. The fruit came in super clean after a longer than average growing season. The wine was bottled July 15, 2021.

Tasting notes: Always a native fermentation under this roof, this wild animal is only slightly tamed by its elegance and restraint. Fresh pine, oregano, cranberry, concentrated raspberries, violets, chamomile, and black peppercorn. The tannins are alive and well, mouthcoating and powdery. The length and persistence here is unquestionable. – Alecia Moore, Two Wolves