Winemaker’s Notes: Blending of 2018 Kuhlken-Osterberg Wine
This week at Pedernales Cellars we have been immersed in conducting blending trials for our most exclusive reserve wine called KO. Why do we call it KO? This wine is named after the families that founded Pedernales Cellars.
It is Pedernales Cellars’ most coveted blend and it is only available to our Collector’s Club wine club members by allocation. That means the winemaking team and I get to really showcase our creativity as well as the nuances of each vintage included in KO which makes for an exciting time in the cellar.
What makes Pedernales Cellars KO wine so special?
We first introduced our KO wine with the 2012 vintage. Our philosophy for KO is to make a well-structured and complex wine with a blend of red grapes including a foundation of at least 50 percent Portuguese varietals sourced from Kuhlken Vineyards. Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cão, and Tinta Amarela are incredible grapes to work with giving the wine a consistent core with aromatic notes of leather, coffee, dark, dark fruit, and even tobacco.
Touriga Nacional by itself is less fruit driven, having more earthy and animal qualities. It is an interesting varietal that brings amazing qualities to the wine. So, we use this as our starting point for each vintage and then explore the other grape varietals that will best complement the Portuguese mainstays to craft a well-balanced wine.
What makes this a premier wine worthy of allocation?
The grapes that make KO are selected from scarce lots of fruit. They come from mature vines in our vineyard that are inherently low yielding. We spare no expense in the winemaking process from the grape varieties we choose to the selection of the best French oak barrels for aging.
We begin our winemaking and blending process with a firm concept of what we want in the finished wine. We identify specific lots in the vineyard to put into a higher tier for harvest and cellaring treatment to capture the tannin and deep aromatic fruit of the Portuguese varietals to be the core of KO wine. We develop other lots of excellent grapes to bring out bright red fruit flavors and complimentary soft tannins.
Every aspect of the winemaking process focuses on making the best Portuguese style wine that we can make in Texas and it can only be made in very limited quantities. We hand pick all of the grapes from our Hill Country Estate and some varieties from the High Plains too. We use hand sorting to refine down to the best lots, and selective fermentation of only free-run juice. It’s an incredibly hands-on process, and it is worth it.
What makes this vintage of KO a stand-out wine for Pedernales Cellars?
Variability in the growing conditions from vintage to vintage allow us to bring in our winemaking creativity to determine the final blend. In 2012, KO wine was made with of 76 percent Tinta Amarela and 24 percent Syrah. The 2014 vintage was a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cão, Tinta Amarela, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Mourvèdre.
Right now, we are experimenting with about two dozen trial blends in the cellar to determine the final blend for the 2018 vintage. An exciting new component in the mix for this vintage is the Teroldego, which is a red Italian grape variety grown primarily in the northeastern region of Trentino-Alto Adige. Teroldego is growing really well in the Texas High Plains and is an incredibly big fruit with nice tannin and brings fantastic qualities to our blend.
Another new grape in our mix this year is Grenache. We now have 12-year-old Grenache vines in our vineyard which bears hearty fruit that makes age-worthy red wines, rather than light styles.
Where to find KO wines.
Join us on Sunday, October 20 for our KO Wine Pick-up Party, for 6 or 12 bottle club members. We will release our 2017 vintage, with less than 100 cases available.
As a special treat, we will taste the 2018 vintage from the barrel.
We can’t wait to hear what you think.