Occteau "Celeste"

Grapes: Counoise + (tiny bit) Muscat

Region: Santa Barbara, California 

Vintage: 2022

Viticulture: Organic 

Vinification: Destemmed. 1 week maceration

Fining or Filtering: None 

Notes from the Importer: A complicated harvest, riding the rollercoaster of heat waves followed by rainstorms stopping ripeness dead in its tracks across most our sites. Much like our comrades to the north in 2020 with smoke pressure, after weeks of hoping that some how the temperate October would push brix levels to the finish line, bee & bird pressure mounted, along with rot, and I decided to pivot towards making an unplanned rosé.

Mostly Grenache with varying macerations of each of the varietals, combined together as they came in, and aged in neutral barrel after fermentation. A complicated wine from a complicated harvest.

Smoky, animal with orange rind accents. Lingonberry tartness but again nice texture.
Herbal, animal nuances in well-sustained finish.