Alicante for the First Time Since 2018

Another fun variety we played with in Vintage 23 is Alicante Bouschet. This is one of the very few grapes in the world that in addition to deep red skins it also has red flesh and juice. Most Alicante is fermented and used as a blending wine; its incredibly deep color makes every other wine darker and seem richer.

We made Alicante in the 2018 vintage but blended it into the TOPGUN Cuvée. It was amazing on its own but we did not have enough to bottle as a varietal. This year’s version is incredible. Extremely long hang time allowed the grapes to develop deep coloring and the resultant wine is dark and delicious.

The wine is extremely young but is already showing deep purple/black fruit flavors along with a killer dark chocolate note. The wine shows great acidity and firm tannins; we’ll need to keep this on in barrel for awhile so it can develop.

We put a majority of the Alicante on neutral French oak but did use one new Gangutia barrel. This one is a mix of French and American oak with a medium toast. Going to be a fun wine!

Fight’s On!

Bull Schmitt