Flaherty Wines

I can’t believe it’s Thursday already! I was a bit under the weather earlier in the week, which is never a good thing during harvest—because just like kids, fermentations can’t be put on hold. So Ed and I have been having conversations along the lines of, How are you feeling? Did you punch down the wines?

Last Friday (Labor Day here) we received the first lot of organic wine from Punitaqui in the Limarí Valley in the north. Interestingly, Cabernet tends to ripen ahead of Syrah in Limarí, which is the opposite of the Aconcagua trend. Our grower, Jim Pryor, brought the grapes down himself and helped with the crush. Ed pulled a sample of the most likely blend for the 2008 Limarí bottling so that Jim could see how the wines are looking. It’s strikingly different from our Aconcagua blend, especially in the tannin structure. Whereas the Aconcagua consistently has soft, powdered-sugar tannins, the Limarí has chalky tannins that produce a totally different mouthfeel. Also, the blend is about a third Carmenère, which brings notes of allspice, black pepper, and soy. It’s shaping up into a very interesting wine.

So, with this bin of Cabernet, we now have four lots that are fermenting. Two of the three Manzur Cab lots are almost finished. The third lot has been behind the other two from the start, with a slow but steady fermentation at cooler temperatures. The Pryor/Limarí lot is just starting to ferment following several days of cold maceration.

Before we crushed the Cab, we had to press out a bin of Syrah to make room. Our youngest son, Sean, joined in the effort, really getting into his work (literally). And he discovered a new use for the new press: a swing! Who knew?