Cult of Ceres Messor MMXIX

Winegrower’s Notes – The 2019 Messor is a Cabernet-based blend from the historic Dionysus Vineyard. As one of the most celebrated vineyards in Washington State viticulture history, the Dusted Valley family is honored to feature this extraordinary place through our fourth release of Messor, Ceres’ helper god who reaps the harvest. This wine is an extremely limited production and has been carefully tucked away to provide additional time to bottle age. It is a powerful yet elegant wine with understated weight and polish. The lingering fruit and earthy finish is driven by refreshing acidity and ripe, building supple tannins.

Vintage Notes – 2019 was not your average growing season in Washington State, yet the vintage was a great success. The early part of winter was warmer until February and March, and then the snow came. The late snow delayed the crew’s ability to get into the vineyards and prune. The blanket of snow and cold weather slowed the soil warming pushing back bud break which began mid-April at Dionysus well behind the previous hot vintages. We saw significantly warmer weather in May which brought on bloom and continued providing a good crop set. When summer arrived, it was quite pleasant without much of our usual week or so of heat spikes. It was looking like an amazing year without any issues, but September had a few tricks up its sleeves. The temperatures cooled dramatically, often 5-20 degrees cooler than the daily average. Given the cooler temperatures, the good news is the fruit reached maturity at  lower sugar levels and preserved freshness and acidity. Then on October 9th there was a freeze that affected most of the state. Dusted Valley managed to have most our fruit off by then, and crafted another vintage of delicious wines.

Blend – 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot | Appellation – Columbia Valley | Vineyard – Dionysus Vineyard

Wine Analysis 6.7 grams/L Total Acidity | 3.83 pH | 14.5% Alcohol

Techniques 23 – 28 day maceration. Barrel aged 20 months on fine lees and racked once before bottling. Bottle aged nearly 3 years prior to release. | Oak Program 66% new French oak barrels | Production 864 bottles

Price – $300 COC Member ONE 3-pack price | $480 COC Member TWO 3-pack price ($240 per 3-pack)