The Cliff Notes: The translucent garnet color gives way to a reserved nose of cherry, boysenberry and blond spice. The palate is fairly balanced between ripe dark plum and refreshing red raspberry: a full and easy start leads to cherry chutney, grilled steak and bay leaf before finishing on rhubarb pie, light smoke and red cherry pit. The structure is not perceptible at entry, but builds to a nice just-visited overall mouth reminder.

Cases Produced: 1362

The Name: Provocateur is French for troublemaker. We all have relatives who knew us when we were not.

A Story: 2009 was a very warm growing year leading to very ripe grapes and expectations of easy, overripe, boozy and jammy wines. We worked assiduously to reign in the forces of over-ripeness in the vineyard and then built for absolute balance in the cellar. To be sure this wine is “available”, but you had better have a pretty good working knowledge of the classics and wickedly smart wit, should it deign to take you home.

The Building of: Small-lot wild yeast fermentations in open-top stainless steel tanks.  Limited pre-ferment maceration, followed by minimal, but targeted temperature and punchdown intervention. 100% barrel aged for 17 months in French oak, 9% new/17% one year year/18% two year/56% older. Racked and bottled, unfined and unfiltered in February of 2011.

Ageability: Drink now to five years and think about getting it some air in the first three.

Alcohol: 13.75%

pH: 3.70

Vineyards: A blend of seven vineyards, Temperance Hill (29 years), Black Walnut (6 years), Eola Hills (11 years), Anderson Family (19 years), Huntington Hill (3 years), Gemini (18 years), and Shea (12 years) — some of the best in the state.