A Little Man Sings 

Site
2021 - Grace Estate Winery  - Crozet, Virginia 740’ elevation
2022 - Chiles Family Orchards - Crozet, Virginia 880’ elevation

Fruit
100% Petit Manseng

Vinification
In 2021, fruit was harvested in late August. Upon arriving to the farm, whole clusters were foot tread and macerated in a macro bin for one week before being pressed off its skins to a neutral French oak barrel to finish its uninoculated, native primary fermentation. The wine sat undisturbed in barrel for two years with minimal topping. In 2022, fruit was harvested on the 11th of September. Whole clusters were foot tread and macerated for two weeks until dry. The wine was pressed off its skins to a neutral French oak barrel where it sat undisturbed for over a year. Both barrels were racked off their gross/fine lees in November of 2023 and blended in tank, with a portion going to bottle and the rest back to barrel for an additional year of aging with minimal topping. This release is a portion of that reserve aged for over three years. Bottled still with no additions of SO2 were made at any stage of this wine. 

Notes
Over the past four years of working with Petit Manseng, we quickly realized that the wines we were making would shine if we could release them with some additional aging. The overhead pressure of sitting on inventory is real as a small scale producer but none the less we decided to devote a portion of each vintage to further aging, offering the opportunity to release the wine at different stages of its development.  This year’s release of A Little Man Sings was aged for an additional year in barrel, giving the wine more time to soften and integrate. The nose is a little more focused, offering raisin fruit and a touch of spice and cedar. The body still has a surprising amount of acidity on the back end, finishing smoother and encouraging us to continue to see how far we can age these wines. Drink this wine slightly chilled and allow it to open up as it warms to cellar temps. It will certainly accommodate for food. 

13 cases produced, 12.9% Alc. by Volume, 750ml