2019 Wayfarer WF2 Rosé

Tasting Notes

Pale salmon in color.  This rosé has aromas of strawberry, rainier cherry and watermelon, with hints of lily and citrus zest.  The palate is refreshing, with notes of tart cranberry and pink grapefruit.  The lingering finish denotes the sensation of a cool ocean breeze on a sunny day.

Winemaking Notes

Pinot Noir grapes were hand-picked in the cool of the night, then hand-sorted at the winery. Fermentation took place in neutral oak barrels, where the wine further aged for three months prior to bottling.

Vintage Notes

After three wet winter months, the 2019 growing season began with Chardonnay block 17 pushing its first shoots on March 26th. Budbreak in our Pinot Noir began on the 1st of April in block 8, and by April 9th all blocks were through budbreak. This was 10 days later than average for Wayfarer, but the vines were growing well by late April and into May. Overall 78 inches of rain fell on the vineyard in 2019, 18 inches more than average. This was concluded by a wet month of May where we saw 4 times our normal amount of rainfall.

However, when the clouds had cleared, the sun was out just in time for bloom and sustained through berry  set. Mother Nature brought a summer filled with wonderful sunshine, yet cooler temperatures allowing the vines to mature beautifully throughout the long days of June and July, leading into veraison in August.

The final few weeks leading to harvest continued this stretch of sunny with mild temperatures at Wayfarer, bringing on a wonderful phenolic ripeness while retaining the focused acidity at the vineyard. We began harvest with Chardonnay Block 6 on September 13th, and concluded harvesting our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on October 5th.

Wine Data

Winemaker:
Todd Kohn
Origin:
Wayfarer Vineyard, Fort Ross-Seaview
Harvested:
September 16 - October 3, 2019
Release:
April 2020
Composition:
Pinot Noir
Alcohol:
14.1%
pH:
3.25
TA:
6.8
Cases Produced:
225