Nate Wall's Winemaker Notes

The five components for the 2023 Ascendant Rosé - cinsault, mourvèdre, grenache, counoise and carignan - were grown and harvested with the intention to make this rosé wine. Even though these are all red grapes, the grapes were all picked at lower sugars and higher acidity than would have been the case for a red wine, and these vines were pruned and grown with rosé production in mind.

The purpose of our “Ascendant” wines are to be age-worthy representations of the unique terroir of Troon Vineyard. Most rosé wines are typically consumed young, so the Ascendant Rosé is a bit of a rarity being crafted with the intention of allowing for age. Part of this intention is in the blending of varieties. The cinsault adds bright red fruits, whose presence should only diminish slowly over time. The mourvèdre adds body and fruit complemented by intriguing herbal characteristics. Grenache adds some weight and texture along with ample fruit. Counoise adds acidity, an absolute prerequisite for extended aging, and carignan adds spiciness.

In terms of winemaking, following harvest the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed to maintain aromatics and acidity. This has the secondary effect of also minimizing color extraction, leading to a more lightly colored rosè wine - our focus is on wine flavor and balance, not color. After settling for 24 hours, the juice was racked to neutral barrels for fermentation. Both primary alcoholic and secondary malolactic fermentations were spontaneous (“native”) and were completed in barrels over a roughly 4-month period. The wines stayed on their primary lees right up until they were blended in a stainless steel tank for bottling when a small amount of SO₂ was added. The Ascendant Rosé is bottled unfined and unfiltered.