2019 Tempranillo - Quinta Refugio
2019 Tempranillo - Quinta Refugio
2019 was our fifth and final vintage at Quinta Refugio. I learned a lot from these old vines and definitely have a better understanding and appreciation for tempranillo. I never intended to make a big bombastic wine and always appreciated the grace and elegance that this vineyard showcased. 2019 might be the best wine that I made form this site. Decant this wine if you drink it in the next five years, drink it in the winter and make sure whatever dish you pair it with has some fat in it.
Even though I have been farming and making wine from the Quinta Refugio Vineyard in Santa Ynez since 2015 this is only our second release. This vineyard has remained in the string because of its simplicity to care for. We can’t get the tractor in so everything must be done by hand. The vines are over 30 years old and give us a solid crop each year. Tempranillo is a tough grape, go see Rioja, it is not the lushest landscape. It thrives in Santa Ynez with little care and a minimal trellis system. We make 3-4 barrels each year off the plot and give the owners a barrel each year of the wines. Fermentations are fully-destemmed and gently pumped over to minimize extraction of the rugged tannins in the grapes. Let this one age a bit for the best experience then pop it open on a cool evening while barbecuing lamb burgers, that’s what I am doing.