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Greetings,

It is our favorite time of the year once again, and hopefully yours too. We are very excited to announce the release of our 2020’s. This year we have a new addition to the lineup. In previous years our offerings have been singular blocks with no blending opportunities, just pure winemaking. What Mother Nature gave us, we provided for you. With the 2020's we were able to refine each of the wines with splashes from other blocks to enhance their depth and complexity. 

Life sometimes delivers strange ways of telling you to stop. It could be with the loss of a loved one, the birth of a child, life altering injury, (or the now overplayed) Global Pandemi… Making wine can be a physically grueling endeavor. I like to think of  winemakers as athletes; lifting barrels, enduring long hours on the sorting table, and early morning or very late night picks that throw your whole schedule off.  Especially during harvest, our health takes a backseat. We grind all day and all night for several months, both mentally and physically, with one goal in mind — delicious wine. If you’ve ever seen a winemaker (or their team) at the end of harvest — it probably wasn’t pretty. We’re haggard, we’re salty, and we gripe a lot. If we’re lucky, we end harvest simply run-down but with winter hibernation and rest ahead of us. Good times for us Baers. But sometimes a dose of unlucky strikes, we’re forced to pause, and prioritize health over career. This was the end of 2019 for me. I was LOADING for the future. 

I had a three month advantage, and a front row seat of a similar situation happening to the world.  The pandemic and my serendipitously timed recovery from an old back injury were a great reset. I started the 2020 vintage with a simple, new approach — only producing wines for ALLBAER. This allowed us to slow down, focus on every mynute part of crafting the wine, and prioritize attention to detail. We hope, in turn, this offers you more. 

My goal with this letter, and the wines we craft is to make you feel. We put a great deal of work into every bottle. We hope the culmination of this effort brings something special to your table. Thank you for following us along this ALLBAER journey while we’ve been LOADING, or Chargement. 

“At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

As for the wine;

The Spring of 2020 graced us with moderate temperatures and late season rains, which was perfect timing for canopy development. As we reached the end of summer, we had several record-breaking heat spikes which progressed sugar accumulation while still maintaining acidity levels. This resulted in well concentrated fruit, resolved tannins, and exceptional balance. In order to maximize the level of complexity of each wine, every block and every vessel must be methodically chosen. Thankfully, we work with farmers who allow us to farm tiny portions of specific parcels of land. Due to our eensy size and mission to maximize the level of depth of each wine, every barrel is crafted differently, and within those barrels, they each hold a different vineyard parcel.

2020 Chargement Sangiovese; 

I wanted a little more nuance from the 2019 vintage of this wine. So in 2020 we chose to harvest the upper portion of the northwest block eight days before the lower portion. The first pick has fresh aromatics, and tight tannins. While the second pick has more opulence, riper fruit characteristics, and spent the entirety of its elevage in new wood. We were more selective with our crop this year during the growing season, which yielded just half the total volume of fruit compared to the prior year. 

2020 Chargement Grenache; 

Expanding on the previous year, working again with Caelesta's block 11, this block has western exposure and is trained in the echalas style. We also added block 9 to the blend — one of the steepest slopes on the site with a northeast exposure. I find the complement of the northern exposure adds restraint, while block 11 maintains a level of opulence. We threw in a splash of Syrah and Graciano to add depth and complexity. 3.8% whole cluster made its way into the fermentation.

2020 Chargement Syrah;

It comes with great joy and anticipation to announce the release of our first Syrah. And wow — I feel this one is special. Sourced 53% from Slide Hill, this site offers blue fruits and savory characteristics without burying the supporting acts. Hawks Hill Ranch Vineyard Syrah makes up 23% of the blend; an east facing, vertical cordon trained block, it produces a minuscule crop and offers the traditional Paso Robles juiciness. The balance of the blend is Graciano sourced from Denner Vineyard. I find Graciano constitutes as the perfect blending component to Syrah due  to its retention of acidity, deep, extracted color and elegant tannin. 46% of this Syrah was barrel fermented in once used puncheon, and went through èlevage in new oak, 23% once used oak, 31% seasonsed, 1.5 % whole cluster. 

Sincerely, 

    ALL the BAERs