Notes on our Summer 2016 Releases
Two new wines debut in May– our 2015 Founder’s Collection Sauvignon Blanc and 2013 Heritage Collection Malbec. These wines will appear on our tasting room menu beginning April 28, the night of our spring release party.
Sauvignon Blanc arguably is Livermore’s most famous white wine, and for good reason. The soils and climate are ideal for growing this cultivar; both lend unique flavor profiles to the finished wines that are found nowhere else. Depending on the vineyard, flavors trend from citrus to tropical. The herbaceous grassiness, which sometimes overwhelms French and New Zealand wines, is muted here. There is just enough to announce its varietal character, but not so much that it clouds the freshness of the fruit.
Occasio Sauvignon Blanc originates in the rocky hillsides of the Del Arroyo Vineyard, where climate favors citrus flavors of lemon, lime, and grapefruit. Our farming and winemaking practices preserve the freshness of the fruit through bottling. Hand harvest, gentle pressing, and cold fermentation help us capture a bracing minerality that is sought after in the finest wines. Truly, this wine is a picture of its terroir.
Malbec is one of the many Bordeaux varietals planted in Livermore in the 1880s. Quite popular as a blending grape, where it added color and backbone to Cabernet, a few of our locals championed it on its own, like Theodore Ghier, who felt that Malbec was one of Livermore’s finest varietals.
With prohibition, interest in California Malbec waned. Today, we are most likely to associate Malbec with Argentina, where the wines from Mendoza are reacquainting us to this varietal. The best of these Mendoza grown wines awaken us to the potential of coastally-grown domestic Malbec from the climatic margins, where the weather is cool enough to preserve acidity yet warm enough to insure ripeness.
Occasio Malbec is sourced from the Ghielmetti Vineyard, a hidden acreage tucked within a coastally moderated valley in the Altamont Hills. Here, we are able to grow a Malbec that showcases fresh fruit framed with herbs and spices. Hand harvested and minimally processed, we age the wine for eighteen months in a mix of new and once-used French oak barrels. This gentle period of élevage helps to soften the tannins and brighten the fruit, preserving a long and satisfying finish.
There we have it, the release of two classic wines, each with a distinct history. Both of these wines deserve to be called heritage varietals, and both deserve a place at your table this summer.
