Black fruits, dark chocolate, vanilla, cumin, cedar dust, butterscotch and dried herbs. Lush chocolate custard with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, ginger and licorice. Full, rich, lush with gorgeous fruit and spice notes. Long silky finish with flavors of blackberry, black pepper and touch of vanilla. This wine has a classic Hedges style with a modern touch, very enjoyable now and will age for years to come.
Grapes are from Red Mountain AVA vineyards within a 2 mile radius of the winery: Hedges, Bel’ Villa, Les Gosses, Magdalena and Jolet. The wine was destemmed and partially crushed into stainless steel fermenters where it was pumped over twice daily until desired tannin extraction was achieved. It was then pressed to barrels where it underwent malo-lactic fermentation, then racked off lees and 100% barrel aged for 18 months in 33% new oak, American (63%) and French oak (37%).
Harvest Notes: The 2017-2018 winter was extremely mild, fairly dry and quite the opposite of the snow and ice ravaged winter we saw the year before. This mild winter really tricked the vines and other early bud pushing plants to sprout quickly. Hedges’ estate vineyards were pruned early (beginning in late January) in anticipation for this early bud break and the vines really responded well. We added a few more Biodynamic practices into the mix, such as home brewed horsetail tea spray, which helped us escape some mildew pressure in June. The heat of summer and long sunny days advanced ripening, but the maturation period of early September and October was mild which made for a harvest that you could pick fruit at a slow and steady pace. Overall the 2018 vintage is going to be a good one!
93 James Suckling
90 Jeb Dunnuck
91 Sunset Magazine
55% Bel’ Villa 17% Hedges 20% Jolet 6% Les Gosses 2% Magdalena
Sarah Goedhart
Experience Hedges wine all year round
