2012 VLV Bokisch Ranches
We have finally made a wine equal to the stunning potential of Markus Bokisch‘s hillside Verdelho vineyard in the Borden Ranches section of Lodi. The vineyard is supremely rocky and full of iron; cooling wind flows down from the nearby Sierras as the fruit ripens. This year we pressed the fruit very carefully and minimized both skin and oxygen contact. We fermented in barrel, but have kept the barrels topped during the five months of maturation, and we have prevented complete malolactic fermentation. The wine is very sharply etched, with persistent minerality and a severity that makes the head snap back. This is the first wine that we show in the cellar; it is our pole start for excellence in the winery.