Rio Tinto
is the featured red wine from the Lee Family Farm label, this unique blend of Portuguese varieties consists of 56% Touriga Francesa, 24% Alvarelhao, 13% Touriga Nacional and 7% Tinta Roriz. The grapes are sourced from Ron Silva’s Silvaspoons Vineyard in Alta Mesa – a sub-appellation of Lodi. The warm, dry climate of the interior valley is ideally suited for these varietals. The vines are planted on 101-14 and 1103 Paulsen rootstocks with a quadrilateral, t-bar trellising system; the north-south row orientation ensures even ripening and good airflow through the vines. Ron is dedicated to sustainable farming methods which yield high quality grapes.
In 2008 there was some initial concern about freeze damage to the vineyard. The vines responded favorably and the rest of the growing season was relatively uneventful, a good thing! Yields were lower than in a “normal” year. The grape clusters were small and tight, resulting in concentrated flavors.
Upon arrival to the winery the grapes are sorted and de-stemmed. Whole-berries are fermented in small open-top tanks. The wine is aged in 100% French oak barrels, 15% of which are new. Each varietal was fermented and aged separately. The blend is assembled after 9 months of aging and then bottled without fining.
Rio Tinto is a beautiful deep purple-red color in the glass. The wine is extremely aromatic with red and blackberry fruit bound to nutmeg and cardamom spices. It is soft on the palate showing ripe flavors of black cherry, blueberry and blackberry integrated with allspice and brown sugar. The wine maintains very good food pairing acidity and is ideally suited to blackened fish or chicken and thin crust pizzas…
