2017 Willy
;)
;)
Wine Specs
Vintage
2017
Varietal
Blend - red
Appellation
Willcox
Harvest Date
mid-August
Acid
TA: 5.5 g/L
pH
3.74
Aging
Aged 11 months in 10% 1-year-old French, 10% 2-year-old French and 10% 2-year-old Hungarian oak barrels (Gillet, Billon & Dargaud et Jaegle Cooperages). Twice racked. Filtered, but unfined.
Alcohol %
13.8
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 fantastic 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 is one of our largest blends of the year at 10 barrels.
Production Notes
Destemmed but not crushed to open-top, 3⁄4-ton bins. All lots were left ~8% whole-cluster.
Cold-soaked 24 hours, then inoculated with specially selected yeasts (D80, Rhone2056, D254, VRB, CLOS, T73 & VRB). 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.
Other Notes
Willcox AVA - 40% Grenache from Pillsbury Vineyard. Cochise County, AZ. 4,300 ft. elevation. Harvested Aug. 18th - 20% Grenache from Cimarron Vineyard. Cochise County, AZ. 4,300 ft. elevation. Harvested Aug. 16th - 20% Syrah from Cimarron Vineyard. Cochise County, AZ. 4,300 ft. elevation. Harvested Aug. 11th - 20% Tempranillo from Cimarron Vineyard. Cochise County, AZ. 4,300 ft. elevation. Harvested Aug. 11th - Sugar at harvest: 23.8 Brix average