2009 Medley® Alegría Vineyards

Tasting Notes

A captivating complement of aromas greets you with opulent, spice-laden berries, toasty oak, and plum. Hints of anise, orange zest, Asian pear, and earthiness add harmony from the background.

A juicy, dark essence—blackberry, plum, currant, cherry, and black pepper—set the tone as the flavors resonate across the palate and linger in the finish. Integrated oak tones back up notes of blueberry, licorice, leather, and crisp pear.

Winemaker's Notes

Each vintage of Medley reflects that year in our Alegría Vineyards, our unusual diversity of grape varieties, our field-blending tradition, and our unique terroir. The blend harmonizes grapes from all parts of our vineyard in a distinctive composition.

For this tenth rendition of Medley, we first co-fermented the “base blend”, using our most aromatic grapes (Cinsaut, seven Muscat varieties, and Viognier,) with Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and 15 other varieties. Harvesting after a heavy rainstorm, we sorted obsessively to be sure we crushed only the best.

After fermentation and six months of barrel aging, we selected from barrels of our 2009 varietal wines to enhance the base blend and bring out the character of the vintage. Each component added a layer of complexity and interest to the final blend.

We aged the blend for four more months in neutral oak, then bottled earlier than usual, to preserve the delicate aromatics. The flavors married and evolved with additional aging in bottle. This elegant, complex wine captures the essence of 2009 at Alegría Vineyards.