After a challenging 2020, vintage 2021 presents a great deal to celebrate. Late summer and fall passed without heat spikes, or indeed, malevolent weather of any sort. Yields again proved lower than ideal - a bummer production-wise, though a boon in terms of concentration. In general, we have found that reds from 2021 show just a touch less heft than the excellent '19s, though greater detail and elegance.
Decades-old vineyards planted by the Besson Family at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Western edge of Gilroy once again provide the majority of the fruit for St Georges, and carry that meso-climate's botanical extract, cherry liqueur raci- ness with them. Three sites in the magical Gabilan Range [equal parts Enz and Rodnick with a jigger of Boer] on lime- stone, dolomite and granite soils contribute roughly 15% of the volume, and an otherwise absent stony resolve grounding the blend.
To add a little lead to Georgie's pencil, on average, roughly one-third of the stems were included, recombined after destem- ming, and then fermented native. As is our custom, we avoided the use of new barrels, extended skin-contact, or lengthy pas- sage in oak in order to preserve the vivid brightness, youthful immediacy and unaccountable alpine freshness of the wine.