2020 Barbera
Tasting Notes
Our 2020 Barbera is a great example of how versatile Washington State is at growing grapes from all around the world. Showcasing a gorgeous array of red and dark fruits. This medium bodied Italian wine displays aromas of cherry cola, cranberry jam and red cassis. The palate shows off the wine’s bright acidity with flavors of tart plums, licorice followed by a light touch of toasted oak that finishes off with impeccably balanced acidity and smooth tannins; the finish highlights more red fruit driven notes that exits the palate with crisp mouthfeel making this wine a perfect choice for pairing with various foods.
Vineyard Designation
100% Estate Grown
Vintage Notes
The 2020 vintage will go down as a very memorable year. The growing season was exceptional with a mild winter, warm spring, and moderate summer. Bud break occurred 2 weeks earlier than normal and veraison was well ahead of schedule too. Just as we were preparing for an early start to harvest, wildfires in the Northwest created a thick cloud of smoke over Washington State. Concerns arose about exposure to smoke. Taking a cautious approach, we delayed harvest until the smoke cleared and conducted trials to determine the effect of smoke on our grapes. Fortunately, results showed no sign of smoke taint. Proximity to the source of smoke plays a big factor, and our vineyard was a long distance away. Overall, we have not seen any impact of smoke on the 2020 vintage. Another major event of this vintage was an early frost that occurred the second week of October. Our winemaking team worked tirelessly long hours leading up to the frost. By the time our vineyards had been impacted by the cold spell, our winery was stuffed with fermenting grapes and harvest was 95% complete. All remaining grapes were then hand-harvested and sorted with an optical sorter to remove any excessive M.O.G. or bad grapes. After our wines completed alcoholic fermentation, we were very pleased with the results. We at Airfield have another stunning vintage for you to enjoy. The 2020 wines showcase an abundance of ripe fruit aromatics, low tannin profiles, and exceptionally balanced finishes.
Winemaking Notes
Harvested from our Estate Vineyard at optimal ripeness, the grapes were destemmed but not crushed, then sorted using our optical sorter. Barbera grapes are massive with fleshy like skins and lots of juice. Extraction on grapes of this nature, especially with high acidity must be taken with caution. The grapes were pumped into small 2-ton fermenters and had very gentle handling during fermentation with only two punchdowns per day. After alcoholic fermentation was complete, the wine was removed from the skins and gently pressed before being placed into French Oak barrels and inoculated for Malo-Lactic Fermen- tation. After Malo-Lactic Fermentation was completed, the barrels had their nature lees stirred twice a month for three months, this process help build roundness and naturally fines the wines at the same time. Aged in 20% New French Oak and 80% 3-year-old French oak for 18 months, the choice to age in slightly used barrels pairs well with a wine of this nature as we want to maintain the wines bountiful red fruit driven profile while creating a creamy finish.
- Varietal Composition: 100% Barbera
- Appellation: Yakima Valley
- Cases Produced: 120
- Alcohol: 14.4%
- pH: 3.36
- Acidity: 7.6 g/L
- Ageability: Enjoy Now through 2034 with optimal Maturity in 2028