Style

Demi sec translates as half dry which means that there is a touch of sweetness in the wine. This is to balance out the natural piercing acidity that the grape variety Petit Manseng is known for. The 2017 has a candied orange zest and dried apricot aroma. The wine is generous, concentrated, powerful, and long with a bright refreshing finish.

Food pairing

Spice is the keyword here. Middle Eastern or South Asian cuisine works well. A touch of sweetness from dried fruits (raisins or apricots) would be a nice touch.

Vineyard

Hardscrabble is Linden’s estate vineyard where there are three small plantings of Petit Manseng. The vines are at an elevation of 1,300 feet on a northeast slope Vines were planted in 2002, 2006 and 2015.

Vintage

June and July were very dry. Shoot growth was less than normal with very little hedging needed. Young vines and less water retentive soils showed some drought stress. We needed rain, but not the 3.5 inches that fell over a few hours on August 11. The rest of August was uneventful allowing clusters to lose some compactness.

A forecast can sometimes become confused with reality. The beginning of harvest is best remembered by the threats of Harvey, Irma, Maria and Jose. They were no shows, with little affect on quality. However fears of their potential impact did influence initial picking decisions, but then weather patterns calmed and the rest of the harvest was ideal: cool, sunny and dry. Petit Manseng was picked October 11, 2017.

Winemaking

Very standard white winemaking: grapes were sorted, de-stemmed, crushed and pressed. Juice was settled for two days. Fermentation took place in tank for several months. Bottled in May of 2018. Alcohol 13.3%. Residual sugar 20 grams per liter. This wine has a very long aging potential. It should drink best between 2022 and 2027 (or even longer).

Linden Vineyards / Our Wines / 2017 Vintage | 2017 Linden Petit Manseng demi-sec