Orlaigh - 'Rua Nua (Batch 2)' - Souzão, Charbono, Mencia - California, USA - NV - 1000ml

Vineyards The Souzão comes from an organic and dry- farmed vineyard in eastern SLO county in Los Padres national forest, nestled between the La Panza and Tremblor ranges near the San Andres Fault, at about 1800 ft elevation. The Mencía hails from northern Los Angeles County at about 2500 ft elevation in an organically-farmed vineyard tended to by a native of Galicia, and are the oldest known plantings of the varietal in California. The Charbono is sustainably-farmed in northeastern Paso Robles by a friend of ours. Winemaking All varietals are foot trod, with the Souzão and Charbono both 100% whole cluster, while the Mencía is partially destemmed. Each lot is vinified separately via native yeast fermentation in neutral barrels, and once dry, are topped up and kept in barrel for about 10 months before racking to tank and bottling unfined and unfiltered. Each lot sees a relatively small sulfur addition at crush, and the blended wine gets another small dose of sulfur at bottling. Wine Description Rua Nua translates to “New Red” or “Fresh Red” in the Irish language. This wine was born out of our desire to make a wine akin to those we love from the Valle d’Aosta in the Northwestern Italian Alps. It’s inky and concentrated, but fresh and alive with a contrasting array of fruit, floral and particularly savory tones (both Souzão and Mencía are high in Rotundone, the compound which gives black pepper its distinct flavor). Dark fruit, smoky herbs and a graphite led earthiness make for a complex palate. Can be served chilled or at cellar temperature. Vintage Notes (Batch 2) A multi-vintage wine with the Souzão coming from the 2019 vintage, Charbono from 2020 and Mencía from 2021. The Souzão was picked in mid-October at sunrise, on an exceptionally cool morning (36°F at the start of the pick) with a near ideal balance of sugars and acidity along with great phenolic development. The Charbono came from the hot, dry and smoky 2020 vintage a little earlier than usual to avoid a coming heat spike and any potential negative effects from the fires. The Mencía, always an early pick, came off in late August.

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Orlaigh Wines is partnership between Patrick Dorsey (former Wine Director for the Michelin- starred Hatfield’s) and Shiri Nagar (former Pastry Chef for Nancy Silverton’s Mozza and Chi Spacca restaurants), two longtime restaurant professionals, focused on crafting low intervention wines from conscientiously-farmed, off the beaten path vineyards throughout the Central Coast and Southern California