2023 Melon

The 2023 Melon (Melon de Bourgogne), better known as Muscadet, was our fifth vintage of this obscure variety, after exploring this unusual grape planted on the estate. We picked the fruit early in the morning while it was chilly in Alexander Valley. The acidity was still elevated, and the brix were at 22, which is the measure of sugar concentration in the fruit. Once the fruit arrived at the winery it was immediately loaded into the press as whole clusters. We rolled the press several times after the fruit was received to break the grapes and then allowed the juice to sit with the skins for a period of 3 hours. This extra skin contact time with the juice creates more robust flavors and aroma notes. The grapes were then pressed, and the juice was pumped to a tank to be cold settled. Cold settling is a process to chill the newly pressed juice to 40-50F for typically around 2-3 days. The cold temperature helps the sediment in the juice settle to the bottom of the tank. The juice was then racked off the lees to another tank to begin fermentation. After fermentation was induced, the wine was transferred to 6-year-old neutral barrels. The wine was then aged on light lees for the next 3 months and pumped out of barrels to tank just prior to bottling.