2016 Willy
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Wine Specs
Vintage
2016
Varietal
Blend - red
Harvest Date
August & September
Acid
TA: 5.5 g/L
pH
3.74
Aging
Aged 11+ months in 10% new and 10% 1-year-old French oak (Billon, Damy, Ermitage Cooperages). Twice racked. Filtered, but un-fined.
Alcohol %
14.5
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Willy has always been our most important blend at Chateau Tumbleweed. He isn’t our fanciest or showiest wine, but he is a great vehicle to showcase the elegance, beauty and restraint of AZ wines. He’s also a great example of the kind of wines we like to drink and our approach to blending. In an homage to Oregon Pinot Noir, we harmonize the elegant red fruit, spice and silky femininity of AZ Grenache with the more powerful characters of Syrah and Tempranillo. With the recent approval of the Willcox AVA, the Feds won’t let us call him Will E. Cox anymore... so we had to change his name to Willy this year!
Vineyard Notes
40% Grenache from Cimarron Vineyard. Cochise County, AZ. 4,300 ft. elevation. Harvested Aug. 31st - 20% Grenache from Juan Alba Vineyard. Cochise County, AZ. 4,200 ft. elevation. Harvested Sept. 6th - 20% Syrah from Carlson Creek Vineyard. Cochise County, AZ. 4,300 ft. elevation. Harvested Aug. 18th - 20% Tempranillo from Cimarron Vineyard. Cochise County, AZ. 4,300 ft. elevation. Harvested Aug. 23rd - Sugar at harvest: 24.9 Brix average
Production Notes
Destemmed but not crushed to open-top, 3⁄4-ton bins. All Grenache was left ~8% whole-cluster and Syrah was left ~12% whole-cluster. Cold-soaked 24 hours, then inoculated with specially selected yeasts (D80, Rhone2056, D254, VRB, CLOS, T73, etc). Hand punched 3-4 times daily. Inoculated with Malolactic bacteria (Omega) around 7 Brix. Pressed at dryness after 9 days average skin contact. Settled 2 days average before barreling.
Production
240 cases
Other Notes
Drink now or cellar up to 5+ years
