En Cavale "Fox Hil Vineyard" 2022 Sangiovese Mendocino

Variety: 100% Sangiovese
Vineyard: Fox Hill Vineyard
Location: Mendocino County, CA
Alcohol: 13%

Sangiovese can be made in a variety of styles all over the world, not just Italy, and it’s the winemaker’s hope that this Mediterranean staple finds the same level of diversity in California. This interpretation hopefully recalls the scrub brush and juniper found along the coast of Tuscany, and the firm tannins, intense dark fruit and buoyant acidity common to the Sangiovese grown in Corsica.

Both lots started with a semi-carbonic fermentation for roughly a week before treading up the berries to go for more maceration. After primary fermentation, everything aged in neutral French oak barrels for 12 months, and then the different lots were blended in September 2022 and a small amount of SO2 was added before being bottled 5 weeks later.

Fox Hill Vineyard on the Talmage Bench in Mendocino County is a special place, reimagined in the 1980s and 90s as a smorgasbord buffet library of Italian grape varieties, including multiple clones of Sangiovese, all planted in an uplifting ancient riverbed composed of eroded gravels, sandstone and quartz soils. Managed and farmed with organic practices for a decade by Sam Bilbro, with Evan Lewandowski and Chris Brockway now continuing Sam’s work – it’s a family affair.