2016 Hanna Malbec 750ml

Vineyard: HANNA’s 2016 Alexander Valley Malbec was grown on our Red Ranch in Alexander Valley. Below Hoot Owl Creek this bench land ranch is planted on Clough Series gravelly loam soil. Above Hoot Owl it planted on Laughlin Series Sandy Loam. These low vigor soils are only two feet deep.  The vineyard is planted to 45 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, 10 acres of Malbec and five acres of Merlot. The Malbec is planted using in- row variable spacing.

Vintage 2016: Following adequate winter rains, the 2016 growing season began early again as the trend toward warmer winters continues. There was almost no frost pressure and the season progressed without significant weather worries. A single heat spike in July was short lived. This was followed by a glorious, easy ripening August and September that allowed the grapes to hang until late September into mid-October. We harvested the Malbec on October 7, followed by the Merlot and Cab on October 12, 2016.

Winemaking: Grapes were hand-picked, destemmed and crushed. Very warm fermentations were used in conjunction with multiple pumpovers to fully extract the Malbec. Pressing was done “to taste”, based on daily tastings of the wines after pumpover. The newly pressed wines were racked to tank and allowed to settle before barreling. The blend was assembled immediately after harvest, and the wine was aged on light lees in 56% new French and Hungarian barrels.

Tasting Notes: Our 2016 Malbec is brilliant deep purple. Dominant notes of blackberry, clove and dark chocolate are complimented with graphite, anise and violets. It has flavors of warm mulberries, buttery shortbread and fresh mint. It is of moderate concentration, silky and plump. (Tasted 4/25/18).

Tasting Update: We have similar notes now with the addition of a bit of warm leather. (Tasted 3/3/21)

Variety: 98% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Merlot  

Vineyard Location: Malbec block 1

Age of Vines: Planted 2010

Alcohol: 14.5%

pH: 3.62

Titratable Acidity (TA): 0.5 g/100 mL

Residual Sugar: 0.00%

Harvest Dates: October 7 to 12, 2016

Avg. Brix at Harvest: 24.3o

Fermentation Temperature: 80-95 o F

Malolactic fermentation: 100% of blend

Length/Type of Aging: 18 months in barrel

Oak Types: 56% New Hungarian and French oak, coopered by Trust, Nadalie, Marcel Cadet, and Remond

Bottling Dates: May 25, 2018

Number of Cases: 301

Vegan