Aperture Cellars 2020 'Soil Specific' Red Blend Alexander Valley Sonoma

The wine uses four of the classic red Bordeaux varietals - Cabernet, Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc (33%, 28%, 28% and 11%). If you plan to drink this wine before 2025, decant for a good hour+ before serving. If you have the space (and the patience), the wine will age well through 2033+. The wine was aged for 18 months in oak barrels, almost half of which were new.

Look for floral aromas of lilac and violet, and fruit notes of cherries, beef jerky, licorice and Asian spices. Native yeast fermentations, temperature-controlled fermentations, maceration times vary by lot to assure optimal balance between power (longer maceration on the skins) and elegance (shorter). Aged for on the lees for 18 months in oak (45% new), with no fining, filtration or acidification.

---

A Note on the 2020 Vintage, from Winemaker Jesse Katz

While the significant wildfire challenges of this vintage did not allow us to produce our entire portfolio of wines, the wines we were able to put to bottle were done so with complete confidence and a renewed sense of awe for the delicate balance between unpredictable nature and precise science that our craft is rooted in. We are proud to share this flawless Bordeaux blend with you now.

With millions of album cover photographs to his credit and a dozen coffee table books featuring his photography, Andy Katz has been said to have changed the way the world sees. Now in the wine business with his talented winemaking son, Jesse, they are changing the way the world drinks.

As a young winemaker, Jesse was thrust into sudden fame when his old high school friend, Jessica Biel, asked him to make a custom wine for her marriage to Justin Timberlake. The Denver native then went on to make another custom wine for the Bronco's linebaker, who then gifted over 200 of the bottles by giving one to every player on the AFC that year.

So what label design do you put on such a fame-prone bottling? How about a photograph by Andy Katz? Perfect.

Few young winemakers have earned the kudos and affirmation of the wine press the way Jesse has. If you're an avid wine collector, you should have a case of this wine in your collection. Drink half and sell the rest in a few years. You'll cover your costs.