Maniacal is blended from mostly Paso Robles fruit with a bit of cooler-climate Monterey County and Santa Barbara fruit included for increased texture and complexity. The 2022 vintage was an anomaly of a year for California wine – delivering a warmer than usual winter without much rain, plus an incredibly hot summer and harvest. Though Maniacal has always been a GSM (in that order), we found that Mourvedre was the standout varietal from this vintage. This wine is proof that in a hot climate, blending is a must to craft the best wine possible.
The grapes were handpicked, sorted, and fully destemmed. 3 to 5 days of cold maceration was then followed by 7 to 14 days of fermentation using wild yeasts and bacteria. Pump-overs and punch-downs were used for cap management. The wines were drained and pressed, then barreled down to neutral 500L puncheons. They aged for 4 months, and were then racked in the spring, where they aged an additional 16 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
