Brutal!!! ‘21
$40.00
In 2020, we made our first Brutal!!! It was inspired by our backcountry hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains, where we spotted wild elderberry bushes growing in granite soils at an elevation of around 6,500 feet. We watched their growth closely and harvested the fruit, co-fermenting it with French Colombard from Solano County Green Valley.
Days after bottling the Brutal, the Bobcat Fire struck, burning115,796 acres in the central San Gabriel Mountains, including where we harvested the Elderberries just weeks before.
Overnight, the habitat that bore us fruits for our first wine of 2020, was altered for generations, if not forever. However, a year later in 2021, we returned to the same site, and discovered that while the surrounding forest had indeed burned, the elderberry trees miraculously had not. They were alive, unscathed, and still producing mountain berries. We then wandered deeper into the scorched parts of the forest, curious as to what was left of it.
As we walked on a steep trail, the once verdant, flourishing landscape was full of charred trees and stumps as the granite earth itself was blackened. As we continued on stepping over dead and fallen trees, we peered at the barren slope below us and down a canyon saw green life sprouting. Scaling the slope, we wandered down to discover more elderberry bushes producing fruit. Why they had not only survived, but seemed to flourish post fire, we do not know. But once again, we were able to capture a taste of a place that will take decades to recover to its natural state. We feel honored to be able to express the San Gabriel Mountains terroir once again, and share with you all the wonders of a magnificent alpine landscape full of canyons, swimming holes, waterfalls, rushing creeks, incense cedar, bristlecone pine, and indigenous wild Elderberries.
Vintage: 2021
Alcohol By Volume: 12.5%
Style: Pétillant Naturel
Varieties: French Colombard + Wild Elderberries
Vineyards: Green Valley Vineyard (Solano County Green Valley)
Forest: San Gabriel Mountains (6500’ elevation)
Cases Produced: 38
Tasting Notes: Zesty alpine mystery flavored black forest geyser.