The 2018 Vintage: With abundant rains in the winter, followed by plenty of filtered light in the spring and early summer, the 2018 vintage saw near perfect growing conditions. Bud break occurred a bit late, but yielded a very even fruit set with such moderate temperatures. Summer brought bright sun and cool evenings for lovely extended ripening and consistency into the fall.
Winemaking: These grapes were hand-harvested in October at 26 degree brix. The grapes were picked early morning and gently destemmed into small one ton open top bins, cold soaked for 5 days to assist with extraction of skin tannins, color and bright fruit, all the varietals were fermented separately. The fermentation was carefully hand-punched down a couple times a day on phenolic development until dry. The wine was pressed to barrels. Each barrel was hand racked and bottled with techniques that ensure maximum protection for aging cellar-worthy collector caliber wines.
Tasting notes: This is the first of the J. Moss Red Wine blend and we are very pleased with the results of the final product. This blend marries Cabernet, Malbec and Merlot which accounts for the supple, lush, ripe dark fruit and velvety textures all while maintaining a rich and complex profile with a remarkably long finish. This is an easy drinking, enjoyable wine.