2019 2019 Cavaillon
CAVAILLON is a bright orange melon, sharing a name with the town in southeast France where it is grown. The melon is known for its endless floral aromatics and rich flavor. The Raft Wine CAVAILLON is a skin fermented Viognier, a dedication to the melon with it’s beautiful color, texture, and taste.
Technical
Tasting Notes
The Cavaillon is a great entry into the land of skin fermented white wines. On first swirl it presents a rich dried apricot note, with white florals, followed by candied melon. But don’t let the delicate nose sway you, this wine has a grippy tannic punch. The palette holds up, with notes of cinnamon and apple pie. The texture on this wine will hold on for a long time, and would be a great pairing for light meats like chicken or pork loin, or perfectly suited on it’s own on a cool Fall day.
Details
Up above the Central Valley, lies a vineyard in the foothills called Love Ranch. Organically farmed, 1300 feet elevation, and on Ahwahnee Vista soil – decomposed and weathered granite – this vineyard feels like a glimpse of the Rhone in California. Love Ranch is planted to many different varietals, and Raft is thrilled to get Viognier from the vineyard for the 2019 CAVAILLON.
This pick was Raft Wines first pick of the season, on August 21. There is always such excitement for the first pick of the season.
Once in the winery, the grapes were 100% destemmed and fermented in a small bin. It was gently punched down twice a day, before being pressed after 13 days on the skins. After a time in barrel, it was racked off the gross lees (heavy sediment) and returned to finish it’s secondary fermentation in neutral oak barrel.
The wine was bottled August 13, 2020 unfined and unfiltered.