News from the Cellar
As the heavy fog roll over the hills of the “Blues,” our valley is covered with a cold thick blanket, pressing down on our daily activities, thoughts, ideas and goals for the New Year. A fine ray of light has cut through the evergreens, giving us a glimpse of the rising sun, providing us with warmth, comfort and opportunity. The early part of winter has been fairly mild, with fewer freezing temperatures than last year, but we expect colder conditions to arrive in the next month or so. With the current weather cycles from the last two years, we can predict a similar short season this year as well. Before we know it, callused hands will work hard to shape our vines for a new start to the vintage, controlling and maintaining specific yields for quality winemaking.
Pruning, just like winemaking, requires skill, knowledge and artistic freedom, and is probably one of the most important vineyard practices, shaping the vine for balance, guiding natural energy to the precious grape. We look forward to see how these vines will come back to life this season! Important activities in the cellar have not slowed down at all, with racking and blending on the forefront. Our 2019 vintage is shaping up, aging and maturing to perfection. Beautiful expressive fruit is being showcased in generous oak, with new oak nuances adding subtle and supportive accents behind the wine. It is gratifying to observe the fine notes and layers of specific oak profiles gliding through layers of fruit, and imagining those elements coming together in a bottle for your enjoyment, accompanied with that special meal with friends. In the end we know that creating a special wine, takes a team, working together towards one dream and one goal. In your February wine club shipment we are showcasing two of these wines, both of which are crafted from fruit from our Double River Estate Vineyard – a vibrant, youthful and complex Merlot from Block 6, and a distinct, unique and multi-layered Syrah from Blocks 7 and 8. These wines will be even more pronounced and lively when paired with the following dishes:
2018 Double River Merlot - Grilled pasture raised chicken breast with cherry herb sauce
2019 Double River Syrah - Grilled Dorper lamb chops with mushroom sauce
From the entire Basel Cellars team we would like to express special gratitude to Steve and Jo-Marie Hanson for providing us with a very unique platform to showcase our abilities and talents over the last decade. Your ownership, guidance and support will be missed. We extend a warm welcome to our new owners Dan Thiessen, Chad MacKay, Paul MacKay, Philip Christofides and Scott Clark, and we look forward to a fresh start to the New Year, with exciting opportunities for the future!
As always it remains a huge honor to craft wines for you and we value and appreciate your continued support. We look forward to the day we can meet in person again and enjoy our wines with you!
All the best,
Dirk