Babbling Brook Rosé Alder Springs Vineyard 2021
Mendocino County

This wine is affectionately named for the winemakers chatty, Rosé loving wife, Brooke.  In keeping with the fish theme, we designed a label with a stylized “Brook Trout” front and center. 

Vineyard:

On the hilly 6,000-acre Alder Springs Ranch in far northern Mendocino County, Stuart Bewley has been growing some of California's most outstanding wine grapes since 1993. He practices his patented brand of extremist viticulture on a patchwork of vineyards perched along the steep sandstone slopes of the Coast Range. The mountainous ranch is a decidedly challenging spot to cultivate grapes, but the results have been superb.

Varietal Composition:

50% Pinot Noir, 50% Grenache

Winemaking:

The handpicked grapes was harvested early in the year while sugars were low and acid still high.  The fruit was sorted, gently crushed by foot by our two young boys and left to soak on its skins in the the picking bins for awhile to infuse color into the juice before being moved to the press.  After pressing, the pale juice was cold settled overnight, racked off the solids and moved to neutral 500 liter French puncheons for native yeast fermentation. The wine completed primary fermentation and was allowed to go through partial Malolactic fermentation for added mouthfeel and complexity before being bottled in Mid-February 2022.

Tasting Notes:

The 2021 Babbling Brook Rosé was fermented and aged sur-lie in two neutral French Oak Puncheons giving the wine a round and slippery texture.  The color is pale copper with a nose bursting of bubblegum and salt water taffy. The palate is clean with flavors of watermelon, peach, and stone.  Enjoy our Rosé slightly under cellar temperature for maximum complexity, or chilled on a hot summer day!