Black Bear Cuvée

VINTAGE NOTES

2020 in Mendocino County was tragedy narrowly avoided. good year for farming. There were fires to the south and east but luckily Nelson Family vineyards were spared.  Generally, Mendocino has a slightly shorter growing season compared to Napa and Sonoma, so the wines show brighter and crisper strawberry and cranberry notes. 2020 was on the warmer side which lends to a slightly lusher, richer style this year.

VINEYARD NOTES

Nelson Family Vineyards are certified sustainable and fish friendly vineyards. The grapes for the 2020 Black Bear Cuvée are sourced from a terraced fruit in the McNab Creek watershed surrounded by coastal mountains. Also known as the old Crawford Ranch, the steep topography spills cool air down into the valley and keeps the nights cool and crisp. The result is blackberry and currant fruit flavors backed by lifting bright acidity, making for great food wines.

WINEMAKING PRACTICES

Winemaking decisions were made to let the vineyard, the place, speak through the wine. No heavy-handed oak or additives were used to mold this wine into something it is not. Instead, very little is done except to keep it clean and to allow the wine to become itself. Malolactic fermentation occurred slowly over the course of two springs while the wine gained depth and roundness balancing out its cooler climate tension. The Black Bear Cuvee is one of our only wines that sees a few new oak barrels, but still only amounting to approximately 20% of the blend. With no fining or filtering involved in the production, this wine is a pure distillation of Mendocino, California.

WINEMAKER’S TASTING NOTES

This is a bold, bright blend, not an over-ripe bomb more typical of Napa or Sonoma. The flavors and aromas are red to black fruit, like coastal black berry or currant. There is a touch of pepper and cedar box in the finish. The mouthfeel is smooth and rich balanced by a cool-climate acidity, more typical for the northern and mountainous Mendocino County. Ready now but should only improve over the next 10-15 years.

FOOD PAIRING NOTES

The 2020 Black Bear Cuvée is excellent with the local grass-fed beef. Try it with a tangy sweet barbeque to shoulder some of the tannins or a classic roast with wild mushrooms to bring out some of the earthier tone.

VARIETAL COMPOSITION:

80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot

APPELLATION: Mendocino County, CA

ALCOHOL: 14.7%

T.A. AT BOTTLING: 6.0g/L

pH AT BOTTLING: 3.65

BRIX AT HARVEST: 24.5°

R.S.: less than 0.02%

COOPERAGE: Mixed years and forest from France

MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: 100%

PRODUCTION: 200 cases