Cult of Ceres Serritor MMXVII

Winemaker’s Notes – The 2017 Serritor Cabernet is sourced from our Southwind Estate Vineyard. Located on the southern edge of the Walla Walla Valley AVA on the Oregon side, this 64-acre high elevation vineyard peaks at 1,441 feet, boasts many different aspects and soil depths over fractured basalt, and is redefining Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon. Serritor takes its name from Ceres’ helper god “who digs”, and is a Cabernet based blend that showcases the power, concentration, structure and finesse that are hallmarks of this unique and special vineyard.

Vintage Notes – Surprise, surprise! When it was all said and done, the 2017 vintage was another warmer than normal growing season. It started late after a long cold winter pushing bud break to late April, which is later than our historical average by ten plus days. There was plenty of available moisture in the soil profiles from the snow and the spring rains leading to some welcome extra canopy at the wind ravaged Southwind Vineyard. Summer came and so did our heat pushing things ahead until the weather turned cooler in September slowing everything down and allowing for our treasured hangtime that provides plenty of freshness and natural acidity.

The building blocks of the 191 clone Cab were picked and co-fermented together on October 15th using a culture started in the vineyard isolating the natural yeast and leading to an even more defined sense of place. The clone 15 Merlot picked September 18th offers a little roundness and flesh in the mid palette, while the 1% of Petite Verdot brought it all together with polish and length. The Serritor keeps getting better with age and our understanding of what the vineyard is willing to give. The extraordinary quality of the resulting wine has plenty of perfectly ripe fruit flavors accentuated by a savory and sanguine old world character that is woven throughout this powerful and structured wine.  We strongly recommend decanting for 5 or more hours, as it will show beautifully into the next day.

Blend – 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot

Appellation – Walla Walla Valley | Vineyard – Southwind Estate Vineyard

Wine Analysis – 5.95 grams/L Total Acidity | 3.82 pH | 14.5% Alcohol

Techniques – 17-21 day maceration. Barrel aged 20 months on fine lees and racked once before bottling. Bottle aged nearly three years prior to release.

Oak Program – 75% new French oak barrels | Production – 600 bottles

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