Topiary 2021

Production

An abundance of sunshine and high temperatures with moderate amount of rain in 2021 provided an excellent crop of clean, ripe fruit. The 2021 Topiary provides a classic blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The harvest for these grapes began on September 21st and ended on October 5th.

Hand harvested and triple sorted (in the vineyard, before and then after destemming), the fruit, consisting of mostly whole berries, was gravity fed into stainless steel fermenters.  Approximately, 20% of the juice was bled from the tanks after 24-48 hours to help concentrate the juice for the red fermentations.  This juice was then used for rosé. Fermentations were conducted separately by variety and clone. Pump overs and manual punch downs were done daily to continually mix the skins and the fermenting juice to achieve maximum extraction of color, aroma, and flavor compounds found in the grapes.

Fermentations lasted 8 to 10 days, then the young wine sat on skins for another 7-14 days for post-fermentation maceration before pressing. Young wines were then drained into French oak barrels for maturation. Malolactic fermentation occurred in barrel, and the wines were aged in the oak for 12-15 months before trials to determine the final blends.