Birichino Enz Vineyard Mourvèdre 2023

The Enz vineyard nestles at the bottom of a canyon in the Lime Kiln Valley, in San Benito County, on California's Central Coast. The San Andreas Fault runs less than a kilometre away, a granite quarry borders the vines and old lime kilns dot the hills. Planted in 1922 and farmed organically for a very long time, this plot of Mourvèdre grows on complex soils of limestone and decomposed granite, which give the wine a very pronounced mineral identity.

The grapes are harvested by hand in mid-October, then partially destemmed before a short maceration. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations take place spontaneously, with native yeasts, in neutral barrels. The wine is then aged there for several months and bottled without fining or filtration, allowing the uniqueness of this rocky terroir to express itself fully.

This wine reveals notes of blackberry, blackcurrant, black plum, watermelon, violet, black pepper, garrigue and flint. The palate is silky and powdery, elegant rather than powerful, carried by fine, tight-knit tannins that will soften with time. The deep, persistent finish extends this sensation of rock.

In the United States, 90% of the wine produced comes from California. It was the influx of gold prospectors to California that boosted the California wine industry in the mid-19th century, particularly in the Sonoma and Napa region. At the start of the 20th century, there were 800 wineries. From 1919 to 1933 Prohibition destroyed the vast majority of the California wine industry so that by 1933, only 140 wineries remained producing wine. It was only from 1960 that the wine industry began to recover from Prohibition and California was primarily known for the production of fortified wines (in the style of Port). It was also in the 1960s that some of the most famous estates were created (Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, etc...).



In 1976, a significant event took place: the legendary tasting competition better known as the "Judgment of Paris". He sees the greatest French wines opposing the new American wines. This May 24, an unexpected result shakes the world of wine, since to everyone's surprise, it is the United States which wins. However, this competition remains relatively unknown to the general public.



Today, there is no doubt that the United States produces great wines. Even though California largely monopolizes the reputation of American wines with its excellent Zinfandels, the state of Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world and the state of Washington offers excellent Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon.