Precedent Wirz Vineyard Riesling Cienega Valley 2017

...Texturally it has chalky acidity, but also an oiliness, accompanied by a slight grip of tannins. It’s aging beautifully, has more years in it, but is in a lovely place right now.

This wine was featured in our February 2023 Wine Club.

Wirz Vineyard was first planted in 1904, then again in the early 1960s. These days the old-vine, dry-farmed vines are tended by Pat Wirz, who provides this description: The vineyard is located at about 1000 feet elevation in the Gabilan Mountains, about twenty miles north of the Pinnacles National Monument. Although it lies only twenty five miles east of the cold waters of the Monterey Bay, the coastal influence is dampened by the mountain topography and geology surrounding this site. The San Andreas fault runs through the property highlighting the convergence of two giant tectonic plates. Granite and limestone are the dominant geologic influence here. As these rocks eroded over the eons, they weathered into very deep sandy loam (Salinian granite) and clay loam (limestone) with plenty of fist-sized granite and limestone cobbles remaining. The rocky, nutrient poor soil forces the roots to grow deep in search of water and minerals. These old vines ripen late (hang time is often into late October or November) and are extremely low-yielding, around 1 ton/acre annually.

Wirz Riesling was foot trod (whole cluster) to crush the fruit before basket pressing. The wine ferments and ages with native yeasts in 1000L Slavonian oak for a minimum of 10 months before being bottled unfiltered and unfined with only a small amount of sulfur for stabilization.