A worthy successor to the ’16, though perhaps slightly less muscular, conversely, incrementally more elegant. We have gotten particularly adept in allowing for the expression of a wonderful savoriness in Cigare, and a pretty nice mastery of tannins. Recent vintages seem to show more structure than years past, and we are convinced that this vintage will be capable of very long aging. Grenache adds rich black fruit flavors and a discreet spiciness. Syrah from the cool climate vineyards near Santa Maria and Edna Valley bring rich black fruit with licorice and spice. The centenarian non irrigated Del Barba Vineyard of Contra Costa continues to provide Mourvèdre for Cigare. The 120+-year-old vines of the Bechtold Vineyard Cinsault provide a very particular fragrance of flowers and aromatic herbs.

Again, we were up to our old/new tricks in air-drying the Grenache and Mourvèdre fruit so that we might use a substantial portion of un-destemmed clusters in the fermenter.1 This particular trick has given this wine the wonderful advantage of a robust skeletal framework, upon which the fruit/flesh is seamlessly embedded. (We conserve the “fruit” or succulence / sucrosity of the wine through minimal, gentle cellar movements, always rigorously anaerobic.). My colleague, Nicole Walsh, and I toil away at the Cigare blend every year, and while the blend will change (sometimes radically) from year to year, we share an idea of the Platonic form of Cigare, and the ’17 certainly embodies that form. It goes something like this: Juiciness, fruit (but not confected or overripe), brightness, exuberance, joy, and not least, a sense of savoriness. I realize I’m not speaking orthodox wine parlance. We look above all for balance and for liveliness, for vinous qi. This wine is still incredibly young and just wants to jump out of its shoes.