This wine hails from the gorgeous Aiken soils of Goldbud Vineyard in El Dorado County at an elevation of 2900’. The beautiful, fine red volcanic soil is strewn with lava pebbles, giving this wine a true sense of place. The head-trained vines are now 19 years old, allowing the vineyard to be dry-farmed, and giving the wine more intensity and terroir every year. We have three blocks of Mourvedre, two blocks of Grenache, and a small Counoise block in this vineyard. In 2015, these blocks were harvested three separate times to make three small co-fermentations. After approximately 20-24 days on the skins, the free run was drained to Demi Muid (600L) neutral barrels. Following a 16 month elevage without racking in a very cold cellar, the barrels were blended and bottled, always without fining or filtration. The 2015 Caldera - 65% Mourvedre, 31% Grenache, and 4% Counoise - has an incredibly dark, concentrated profile, with awesome tension of fruit and savory notes. The nose has great intensity and purity – rose petal, wild strawberry with a kirsch edge, dried aromatic herbs, blackberry, graphite, black tea, regaliz, and herb-roasted meat. This is a really stunning vintage of Caldera, with a super silky entry, terrific depth and length, and great tension between seductive fruit and pensive savory notes. 180 cases produced.