The Puzzle 2019
Visually, the deep and intense ruby hues of this wine enrapture the eye and draw you into the glass where aromas of Bing cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, and ripe plum greet you. Equally intriguing are the more earthy and savory notes of cacao, tobacco leaf, tea, and baking spices. There is a nice density to this wine with sweet, powdery, and approachable tannins that linger and tease the palate. It is a precocious young-red wine that will immediately impress, but also has potential for aging and entertaining for many years to come.
93 POINTS JAMES SUCKLING
93 POINTS DECANTER
The Puzzle 2019
Visually, the deep and intense ruby hues of this wine enrapture the eye and draw you into the glass where aromas of Bing cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, and ripe plum greet you. Equally intriguing are the more earthy and savory notes of cacao, tobacco leaf, tea, and baking spices. There is a nice density to this wine with sweet, powdery, and approachable tannins that linger and tease the palate. It is a precocious young-red wine that will immediately impress, but also has potential for aging and entertaining for many years to come.
93 POINTS JAMES SUCKLING
93 POINTS DECANTER
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Wine
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Style
Red
Description
Visually, the deep and intense ruby hues of this wine enrapture the eye and draw you into the glass where aromas of Bing cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, and ripe plum greet you. Equally intriguing are the more earthy and savory notes of cacao, tobacco leaf, tea, and baking spices. There is a nice density to this wine with sweet, powdery, and approachable tannins that linger and tease the palate. It is a precocious young-red wine that will immediately impress, but also has potential for aging and entertaining for many years to come.
93 POINTS JAMES SUCKLING
93 POINTS DECANTER
Details
VINEYARD
A hallmark of our winery for 20 years, The Puzzle is a red blend featuring the classic Bordeaux varieties. Historically sourced from our Spring Mountain Vineyard we now experiment with some of our other terroirs; Yountville and Mt. Veeder. The contrast in styles from each vineyard, and our winemaking techniques tailored to each site ensure each vintage of Puzzle boasts a unique personality and exceptional drinkability.
VINTAGE CONDITIONS
Abundant rainfall early in the year ensured that the soil stayed moist well into the spring. This helped to set-up healthy canopies along with good flowering and fruit-set. As the season progressed, we saw predictably warm days in summer, but the heat was often mitigated by long-cool foggy mornings. Temperatures became milder as we got closer to the harvest-time and it enabled us to hang the fruit out a bit longer to maximize color, flavor, and structure. Overall, 2019 delivered exceptional fruit with bright acidity and ample texture proving to be an amazing vintage.
VINIFICATION
Preceding any fermentation, a rigorous selection process of bunch sorting by hand, destemming, and subsequent optical sorting occur to make sure that we select only berries of optimal ripeness. Maceration of the grapes occurs in a selection of stainless and wooden vats with temperature and time varying by each lot. On a given year, we will sometimes macerate for up to 30 days on the skins. Once we press off the skins, the wine is barreled down and kept separate until blending. The puzzle blend is aged in French-oak barrels for 18 months, 50% new oak, before being bottled unfiltered.