“We believe in winemaking that
inspires curiosity and innovation.”
The solera Technique.
Mashup is made in a solera, a wine-aging system that allows winemakers to deliver aged wine by blending different vintages in a set of barrels called a solera. Soleras are commonly used to produce consistency in Sherries, Ports and even Champagnes, but we take our own spin on it to create a unique iteration of our Mashup blend each year.
To use this fractional blending system we drain a portion of the wine from the solera each year for bottling. We then refill the solera barrels with wine from the next vintage. We taste through all the barrels from the new vintage and select only those that are suitable for addition to the solera. This process of bottling a fraction of the solera volume and then refilling the barrels with wine from the next vintage is repeated yearly.
The result is a multi-vintage blend that contains aged wine that provides a smooth mouthfeel and complex aromas and tastes and younger wine that adds a fresh fruitiness. The blend is primarily Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Tempranillo.
History of the solera.
We established The solera in 2010 – the same year Left Bend was founded.
During the first four years, two barrels were reserved each year, one Syrah and one Cabernet Sauvignon. After four years, the eight reserved barrels were blended together and a portion was bottled as Version 1 (V1). Each year, the next vintage is added and then bottled. V1 contains 4 vintages, V2 contains 5 vintages, and so on. The last bottling, V8, was after the 2020 vintage, and contains 11 vintages (2010-2020). The idea that “you can’t manufacture time” is expressed in every bottle of Mashup.
The next bottling, V9, will be a blend of 2010-2021. V9 will be bottled in 2024 and released in 2025.
Vineyard locations.
We source fruit from across the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. Currently, the top six vineyards in Mashup are Fellom Ranch (Cabernet Sauvignon), Gali Vineyard (Syrah and Tempranillo), Muns Vineyard (Syrah), Camel Hill Vineyard (Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc), Raines Vineyard (Syrah), and Vanumanutagi Vineyard (Syrah).
Future bottlings will begin to incorporate Syrah, Tempranillo and Cabernet Franc from Richard's Redwood Grade Vineyard. The first harvest from Redwood Grade Vineyard was 2022.
Walk the vineyards with us.
