2021 Paysan "Old Vine" San Benito County Cabernet Sauvignon

Notes

Largely from the 60-year old Brigantino Vineyard plus additional fruit from from 75-year-old Tres Pinos Creek Vineyard and 45-year-old vines at Wheeler Vineyard. All sites are certified or in conversion to organic. Winemaker Ian Brand notes: "This is a Cabernet selection off old vineyards, planted with old massale/clonal selections on old school rootstocks (St. George and AXR-1) made in a style reflective of the classic California Cabernets of the 1970s." Winemaker Ian Brand moved to California to pursue a life of surfing, but quickly got bitten by the wine bug. He is a bit of a rebel, and the purpose of the P’tit Paysan project is to present simple, unpretentious “country” wines. In reality these simple wines come from some unique vineyard sites that Ian has sniffed out in the backcountry of Monterey and the surrounding area. Most of these vineyards exhibit very poor soils, in harsh conditions just on the edge of farmlands. The struggle these vines must face makes for intense fruit.