Rootdown Mourvedre, Dry Bone Ranch 2018 (750 ml)

Sourced from Dry Bone Ranch Vineyard in Amador which sits at an elevation of 2700 ft. Soil- Josephin series which consists of deep, well drained soils that formed in colluvium and residuum weathered from altered sedimentary and extrusive igneous rocks. Harvested the same day as the Mourvedre rosé from 2 bins of what Mike determined as the riper, softer fruit. Destemmed but kept as whole berries. The idea behind this wine is to be fresh, full of energy and not extracted. To achieve this, there were no pumpovers or punchdowns. Instead, he simply wet the cap by pitcher and let the ferment ride out naturally. Because this is a spontaneous fermentation, (and in order to keep the native yeasts healthy) he fully drained the tank halfway through fermentation, gave it a bunch of oxygen and pumped it back into the ferment to finish. Keeping the style in mind, he pressed early and let it finish off in tank and then aged it in neutral barrels for only 7 months. 40 cs produced. Serve lightly chilled.

Mike Lucia is no newcomer to the Sonoma wine scene. He has been laying tracks in the world of wine since he first landed in Healdsburg as a teenager back in ‘92 and started rubbing shoulders with local winemakers during after-school restaurant gigs. Before long, Mike worked harvest with DeLoach in the Russian River Valley, an experience which led to jobs at many other well- respected wineries such as Ridge. Sometime in the late ‘90s, Mike fell in love with the wines of Burgundy and sought to find a similarly nuanced, terroir-driven experience at home.

For all wines, Mike harvests his fruit to lead with earth and texture, rather than only fruit. Stylistically, these wines have low alcohol, high acid and more delicate, brighter color. His style remains very decidedly hands-off, allowing the grapes and specific sites to speak for themselves. He ferments the wines with native yeasts, no new oak, and sulfur only in amounts equal to what is found naturally on the vine. Mike’s technical prowess as a winemaker is finely tuned, but he usually prefers to let curiosity inform what happens with his Rootdown wines. He is constantly having fun “making decisions that he shouldn’t make,” and always playing with “What if?”