2020 Liquid Farm Ancona’s Cuvée #5 Rosé of Graciano (Sourced for Ancona's from a secret vineyard in Happy Canyon, Santa Barbara)

This is Ancona’s/Liquid Farm collaboration project #5.

Since 2015 we’ve worked with Jeff and James to collaborate on a series of custom bottlings that capture unique single vineyard snapshots through the lens of Liquid Farm. 

And for the second vintage running--this collaboration has yeilded a pink wine!!! 

Although Liquid Farm has a track record of making outstanding Bandol-eque rosé from Mourvèdre, this particular Cuvée offers a unique riff on LF Pink. 

Liquid Farm tailors this wine for Ancona's just as we prefer it: delicate, light weight, low alcohol, crisp, dry and pale. 

The wine is produced from a rare planting of Graciano grapes, located in Happy Canyon. 

As truth be told--Liquid Farm initially commited to this parcel of wine understanding that the fruit was Mouvédre rather than Graciano--and at some point it occurred to James that the barrels from this particular vineyard were just a bit different than the other barrels of Mouvèdre—lighter, prettier, and less funky.

It made total sense when he found out it wasn’t actually Mourvèdre at all.

About Graciano: This heirloom grape variety hails from the Rioja region in Spain where it is prized for its bright acid, concentrated perfume, and longevity. 

The combination seemed meant to be.  

In July of 2020 we reserved a section of the 'secret vineyard' to be harvested on behalf of Ancona’s for LF #5

The fruit was harvested on September 2 of 2020. 

Check out this gorgeous Graciano ariving at Liquid Farm: 

Isn't it beautiful?

While the regular Liquid Farm rosé sees a few hours on the skins to extract color, flavor and tannins, Ancona’s is pressed immediately to keep the end product delicate, and pale.

After fermentation, the wine rested in barrel for a few months before bottling in February of this year.

97 cases were made. Plus 12 magnums. And five four 3L Jeroboams.

I gotta say--Jeff and James are the best. And to see bits and pieces of their personalities shine through in the wines they make has been one of the most rewarding aspects of these projects. 

It might be an understatement to say that the Ancona’s team is simply thrilled with the end product. 

The wine weighs in just shy of 10.5% alcohol--which we think you will find fits a new niche for your personal consumption.

The stuff simply disappears from the glass. 

And we're thinkin' it would make quite a Mother's Day gift.

Happy Rosé season!

Codey Foster, Wine Director 

My Notes Read: We’re thrilled to witness the potential of Graciano. The end product is bone dry and just a hair shy of 10.5% alcohol. It is driven by the essence of grapefruit oil, fresh yellow apple, peach juice, citrus rind, and a whisper of salinity. Having poured the first glass it’s painfully obvious that the biggest mistake we made was not bottling more magnums. So crushable. Farmed organically.