Love Heals 2025
VARIETY Roussanne & Malvasia Bianca
BRIX at Harvest 22.85
PH at Harvest 3.32
LOCATION Willcox, Arizona
VINEYARD Rhumb Line Vineyard
SOIL TYPE McAllister loam, a deep alluvial soil rich in clay and limestone
PRODUCTION 94 cases
ALCOHOL 13.1%
Vineyard
Rhumb Line Vineyard is situated on 60 acres in the Willcox AVA in the foothills of the Dos Cabezas Mountains. The vines are grown at 4,300 feet on McAllister loam, a deep alluvial soil rich in clay and limestone. The estate grows Spanish, Italian and Rhone varietals. Rhumb Line has been practicing organic for years and are looking to become organic certified in the near future. The Grapes
The Roussanne and Malvasia Bianca vines were planted in 2013 and are grown in the high desert, 4,300 feet on the northern edge of the Willcox Bench. Deep alluvial soil rich in clay and limestone combined with extreme diurnal shifts of hot days and cool nights allow the grapes to preserve aromas and natural acidity.Vinification
The Roussanne and Malvasia grapes were hand picked and transported to Bodega Pierce in Clarkdale, Arizona for vinification. The grapes were cold soaked for 24 hours, then destemmed and fermented with native yeasts on the skins for 10 days with several punch downs a day before being pressed off into neutral oak barrels near dryness. The wine was aged sur lie for 10 months with no bâtonnage. Racked once before bottling. Unfined, unfiltered with 30 PPM of added SO2 (15 PPM when the grapes arrived at the winery, 15PPM a week before bottling).Expression
Dried apricot skin and Meyer lemon pith on the nose, honeysuckle drifting in behind, with a waxy, almost beeswax note from the Roussanne holding the Malvasia's perfume in check, and a touch of bruised yellow apple and dried orange peel underneath. On the palate it enters soft and broad before the grip arrives: quince paste, bitter orange marmalade, chamomile and a dusting of dried herbs. The phenolic bite reads more like tea tannin than fruit tannin, and it finishes dry and savoury with a faint saline edge.