Ancient Peaks Renegade Red Wine 2019, Santa Margarita Ranch, Paso Robles, California

The 2019 Renegade is composed of Syrah (57%), Malbec (10%), and Petit Verdot (33%) from the estate Santa Margarita Vineyard on the historic Santa Margarita Ranch. The winemaking vision of Renegade is to craft a rich, boldly flavored wine with structure and finesse. After fermentation, the individual lots were aged for 8 months in a combination of French (35%) and American oak (65%) barrels, including a total of 25 percent new oak. A majority of the Syrah was aged in barrels with medium-plus toasting to accentuate the varietal’s savory, smoky nuances. The Syrah comes from Block 47 along slopes of ancient sea bed soils, where the fruit achieves deep, dark flavors with meaty richness. The Malbec provides rich red fruit flavors with a fresh, mouthwatering texture. The Petit Verdot delivers fine mid-palate structure and concentration. Together, these varieties create a blend of great breadth and dimension. The 2019 Renegade opens with deep, dark bramble fruit aromas. The Syrah asserts itself with savory and smoky notes, while the Petit Verdot provides classic hints of pencil shavings. A juicy texture delivers bold, integrated flavors of blackberry, plum, blueberry and pomegranate with undercurrents of toasty oak, juniper and pepper. Elegant acidity joins chewy tannins on a robust yet beautifully measured finish.