‘Voltron’

Naming a wine can be challenging. It can take weeks, even months to do each cuvée justice by perfectly matching its profile and story to a fitting name that reflects it. The creative process is tortuous and takes hours of reminiscing, Googling and vinous stimulation. It’s “bloody tough.” In most cases it would be easier naming your first child. And then, sometimes everything just aligns and the world feels right and at peace. So, what do you call a super wine made from 5 varieties from 5 different vineyards? A wine which lets each individual variety and site shine independently but harmoniously combine to create something beautiful and unique at the same time. You name it after the super robot piloted by 5 space explorers. Welcome to the stable VOLTRON (which is almost an entirely new blend while remaining of the same style in 2022!)

All varieties were fermented separately. Most lots were de-stemmed, with Pinot Noir and Syrah seeing 10% and 20% whole-bunch, respectively. Dolcetto was the only variety to receive a cold soak for 7 days prior to fermentation. All varieties but Chardonnay fermented outside in 500L tanks with a daily plunge; the Chardonnay went straight to tank inside in a cooler environment. After 2-3 weeks, the reds were pressed off their skins and, along with the Chardonnay, were sent to old French hogsheads to mature. They remained there for about 7 months before being racked to tank for blending trials. With the final blend secured, the wine rested in stainless for another two months, with partial malolactic fermentation occurring prior to sulfuring.  The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.