Plums and spice. Oh, that’s nice.

A Story: Vespidae (ves-puh-day): Latin name of the family of wasp trying to kill me.

The Cliff Notes: It presents as dark ruby in glass. The nose is big, spicy, plum and deep cherry, maybe some play-doh? On the palate it’s pretty massive, FULL and FRUIT and ROUND. The impression is dry and vibrant, a great 360-degree mouthfeel finishing on talc.

The Vintage: 2018 was a warm growing year that gave thick skins and ample ripeness to the grapes. The result was wine of immense frame and structure. Drinkers will be rewarded by sheer size and fruit density in the early years, with plenty of stuffing to take them to age. As of September 2020, these wines are drinking best after being opened … on day three.

The Building of: Six- to eight-barrel-lot, wild-yeast fermentations in stainless steel, 100% barrel aged for 17 months: 20% new, 23% one year, 57% two year or older. Bottled unfined and unfiltered in March 2020.

Ageability: Please decant these 2018s to get them some air within their first three years. Maybe cool them just a couple degrees as well. This wine should easily climb in complexity beyond ten years.

Vineyards: This is our flagship bottling representing two great vineyards. In 2018 the lead is Temperance Hill (39 years) at 60% with hard-to-deny old-vine complexity and beautiful elegance. The other 40% is our St. Dolores Estate (11 years) whose power is on full display, very structured and very juicy.

— Jim Prosser, owner/winemaker