The Withers In Hand Red Blend

The Withers In Hand Red Blend

The Withers In Hand Red Blend is a Mourvèdre dominated blend that expresses itself immediately once in the glass, with core aromas and flavors of spice and earth. Like a warm summer afternoon, it coats the palate and expands and adds nuance with exposure to air. Medium-bodied, it is a perfect match for a wide range of foods including pasta, meat, fowl, and darker-bodied fish.

This wine was fermented with 30% whole clusters and after a cold soak, aged for 18 months in 100% neutral oak barrels ranging in age from 10-20 years. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered and only racked once directly preceding bottling.

About The Withers Winery

The Withers is a new project focusing on high elevation, cool climate sites that yield exceptional, nuanced, and balanced red and rosé wines drawing from Rhone varietals grown in the Sierra Foothills and Mendocino County, as well as Pinot Noir grown in the Anderson and Green Valleys and the Sonoma Coast. The Withers was founded by Andrew Tow, a longtime collector and advocate of food-friendly, understated, lower alcohol yet deeply flavorful wines, and features as its winemaker David Low, co-founder, and winemaker at highly acclaimed Anthill Farms Winery. The name The Withers is an equestrian term honoring Andrew’s wife’s passion for horses, which is defined as the place from which a horse’s height is measured. “We aspire for height in quality, something to reach for, something soulful, and we named our label accordingly,” says Andrew. “One of our horses, a beautiful Irish Connemara pony named Mr. Burgess is featured on all of our labels”.

Andrew has formed many relationships in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys over 35 years, including striking up a friendship some years ago with David Low. “David and I found that we both looked for the same things in various corners of our lives, including wine styles, people, music, and the outdoors”, said Mr. Tow, “and this lead to a trade of a fly fishing trip to Montana in return for an experiment with a few barrels of Pinot Noir and ultimately Rhone varietals”. Those barrels came out so well that what had begun, as a personal project became a commercial one a few years ago. Andrew then developed the program to include single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coastal region, a Syrah dominant blend featuring Grenache and Mourvedre called Mr. Burgess, a Grenache dominant blend featuring Syrah and Mourvedre called Bel Canto, and a Grenache/Mourvedre dry rosé wine beginning with the 2013 vintage. Limited oak is used in the program, which also employs significant whole cluster fermentation and minimal intervention. “We want to tell true stories about each site. Let the grapes speak for themselves!” says Andrew

The wines include single-vineyard and blended expressions of well-respected sites, all farmed responsibly and with minimal ecological impact. The Withers draws from David’s excellent relationships with growers in high demand and at the top of their fields, literally and figuratively, and Andrew’s relationships on the business side.