The Cliff Notes: The wine is translucent cherry in color, with a nose of candied cherry, spice, smoke, oil-cured olives, soy sauce and dusty strawberries. Medium weight on the palate, it shows flavors of strawberry taffy, PEZ and cherry compote with nice grip. The wine fairly cuts the divide of sweet and sour, and will continue to further complex with time.

The Story: Antoinette Carriere was my maternal grandmother. French-Canadian and a farmer’s wife, she knew her way around both a team of horses and the fire of a stove. And when the horses ran too fast or the fire got too hot, she knew how to rein it in or pull it back, so that neither horse nor meal got too cooked. It was good for her grandson to heed that memory during this very warm growing year.

Cases Produced: 123

The Building of: Small-lot wild yeast fermentations, 100% barrel aged for 19 months in French oak barrels (two new, one once-filled, two twice-filled). Bottled, unfined and unfiltered, in April of 2011.

Ageability: Absolutely decant to get it air within its first three years. Well cellared, you should anticipate additional complexity during its first 10 years with a potential 10- to 12-year drinking horizon.

Alcohol: 13.75%

pH: 3.68

Vineyards: Temperance Hill’s (30-year-old) later and cooler high-elevation vines deliver old vine complexity with fresh acidity. The five best barrels became this wine. The vines are from the front block east, the oldest at Temperance, and their massive root systems go deep to deliver both high flavor and nuance to the limited yield.