THE C.R. SANDIDGE WINES
2022 Dolcetto
Red Blend
Due to the very cool weather from March through early – June, the overall growing season leading up to harvest was borderline disastrous. Utilizing excellent canopy management and dropping 25% of the grape clusters helped mitigate some of that growth delay caused by the cool weather. It was going to take unusually dry – warm weather through the end of October to allow winemakers the opportunity to spread out the harvest and gain some additional ripeness. Mercifully, that happened as fully ripened grapes were being picked through the 6th – 7th of November without rainfall. Ultimately, grapes were picked between 14 and 20 days later than what we would normally expect.
Our Dolcetto harvest for this fine red wine came from a single Lake Chelan AVA vineyard site. Namely, our Purtteman Estate vineyard. This vineyard sits in a half – amphitheater with the Dolcetto facing to the east – southeast on a moderate to moderately steep slope. It receives direct sun all day until the sun sets behind Slide Ridge to the southwest. The soil is a loamy – sand. Perfect for manipulating vine growth needed to focus on reducing berry size.
- Harvest: All fruit was hand-picked, sorted and destemmed – crushed into one ton fermentation bins.
- Fermentation: A yeast developed in northern France was utilized for the primary fermentation. The various musts were fermented for 11 days on the skins prior to pressing.
- Grape must was “punched down” thoroughly twice each day while skins were in contact with the fermenting juice.
- Malo-lactic conversion: Malo – lactic conversion was fully completed while the wine was in barrels utilizing the native bacteria.
- All wines were aged for 17 months in French oak barrels. Forty – five percent of the barrels were new oak. The balance was aged in a one use barrel. This was done to the preserve a large fruit component for the final blend. The French oak we sourced for new oak was “Center of France”.
- Filtration Level: Very tight at bottling.
This grape is primarily grown in northern Italy. It has adapted to our Lake Chelan AVA – Purtteman estate vineyard extremely well. This is evidenced by the resulting wines made from our Dolcetto. The small berry size we seek has been rewarded with purple – red hues. The aromas and flavors derived from the grape include; very ripe strawberries, red currants, red ripe plum and a bit of sage – black licorice. French barrel aging tossed in some delicious toasty oak notes as well. Excellent alone or when matched with a plate sauteed mushrooms and artisan bread. Also, try smoked, pan seared or grilled fresh caught salmon seasoned with herbs de Provence and finished with a huckleberry or plum sauce. Our family thanks you for your friendship and support. Enjoy!!
Wine Specs
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Alcohol Percentage: | 13.7% |
| pH: | 3.49 |
| Acidity: | 5.6 grams per liter |
| Residual Sugar: | 1g/liter |
| AVA: | Lake Chelan |
Non-Member Pricing
Bottle Price: $47.00
Case Discount: 15%
Club Member Pricing
Bottle Price: $37.60.00
Case Discount: 30%