2020 Cecelia
60% Syrah 20% Sauvignon 20% Grenache
Grown by us here in North Yuba, the vines for this wine are located on two different slopes that face each other. The Sauvignon Blanc comes from an eastern facing hillside, the same site as the Pearl Thief. The Syrah/Grenache come from an opposing western facing site at higher elevation with steeper gradient, but much more fertile soil compared to the bare rocky slopes where the whites are planted.
We prune, tie, tuck, sickle, shoot-thin and sucker the vines from January to July. The Cecelia is usually the first wine to come into the winery during harvest. In most vintages, including 2020, we pick the Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah one day apart, usually in the second week of August. The whites are foot-stomped, and the Syrah is direct pressed onto the skins and stems of the Sauvignon Blanc. They soak on the skins together for a few days, continuously adding Syrah and Grenache as we pick and press, until primary fermentation begins, and then they are all pressed into stainless steel tanks to finish primary.
That's it. No additions or subtractions, manipulations or poking and prodding of any kind at this point.
After 8-10 months in neutral oak puncheon with regular topping and a final 6 weeks of assemblage in tank to introduce the barrels to each other, we added 30ppm of SO2 before bottling by hand.