Wines & Vintages
Morchella
Morchella is primarily made from Chambourcin, with variation in blending varieties based on vintage. Certain vintages will be 100% Chambourcin. The goal is to highlight the Shawnee Hills’ most tried and true variety. Shawnee Hills Chambourcin develops intriguing dark fruit characters, dried herb aromas, weighty structure, and fine, very subdued tannins in most years.
Each vintage so far has been produced using hand punch downs in small 1/2 ton - 1 ton open top fermenters. This method adds some oxygen to the fermentation, which can influence fruit expression. It also creates a little more extraction of tannin from the manipulation of skins and seeds by hand implements. Fermentation temperatures are kept on the cooler side, which further retains more delicate fruit characters. Malolactic bacteria are co-inoculated to complete malic acid conversion early, with the goal of retaining maximum varietal character.
Aging occurs in a mixture of new, lightly used, and neutral American oak barrels and puncheons. The key is selecting barrels made from long aged staves - at least 36 months and up to 60 months. This stave aging prior to barrel production mellows much of the vanilla and harsh tannins that can be absorbed from American oak. For smaller barrels, wood contact typically lasts 8-12 months, with more like 18-24 months when completed in our 500 liter puncheons. These wines usually also pick up 6-12 months of age in stainless steel tanks both before and after barreling.
The grapes come from vineyards that portray Shawnee Hills terroir, and are allowed to develop peak ripeness while hanging on the vine into mid to late October. Chambourcin comes in between 24-25 brix most years.
The label features a morel mushroom (Morchella esculenta) which is a popular forageable item for lucky roamers in the Shawnee Hills. Not only is it a distinctive resident of our springtime forests, it’s also a culinary delicacy which goes very well in dishes alongside Chambourcin based wines.
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100% Chambourcin
A warm spring advanced shoot growth through May, followed by a cooler than average summer with moderately average rainfall. August and September had above average rainfall, creating extra canopy management requirements in the vineyard. Coupled with high dewpoints and cool nights, disease pressure was moderate throughout late September and into early October. Despite fungal diseases being primed to cause problems, Chambourcin was harvested cleanly on October 10th, with ample ripeness. This vintage is leaner, with light blueberry and red fruit aromatics. High glycerol conversion lends lush body and structure to the first ever vintage of Morchella.
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70% Chambourcin | 25% Norton | 5% Montepulciano
The 2017 wine growing season in the Shawnee Hills had more warm and dry days than not. The spring and summer months saw moderate rainfall, providing decent conditions for healthy vine growth and grape development. As the season progressed into a dry late summer and fall, the temperatures cooled slightly, allowing for a slower ripening period, resulting in more complex and nuanced flavors in the grapes. Overall, the conditions showcased a good balance of fruit and acidity in the resulting wines, making them well-structured and age-worthy. We chose to include some Norton in the blend this year, mainly because the warm days and cool nights continued well into October, making this variety something to behold. A small amount of an unexpected variety - Montepulciano - was also available, and we vinted that alongside our other two reds as a trial. The Monte proved to be a great blending component for this vintage, adding some deep spice complexity and tannin.
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67% Chambourcin | 33% Teroldego
The wine growing season of 2019 saw cooler than average temperatures and above-average rainfall. While these conditions presented some challenges for grape growing, the vineyards were able to produce fruit with great balance and complexity. The cooler temperatures resulted in slower ripening, which allowed more nuanced flavors and higher acidity to develop. As a result, the 2019 vintage showcased bright fruit flavors, with notes of cherry and blackberry from Chambourcin, as well as a pleasing level of tannins and structure from Teroldego.
Terrapene
Terrapene is a beautifully balanced white wine that showcases the best of Shawnee Hills Chardonel. Its bright acidity is complemented by a subtle roundness from fermentation in an oak puncheon, resulting in a wine with depth and complexity. On the nose, aromas of fresh citrus and white flowers lead into a palate of crisp apple, lemon, and a hint of minerality. Malolactic conversion takes place simultaneously with alcoholic fermentation to preserve these fruit forward notes. Fermentation completes in a few weeks, and the wine is then aged in stainless steel until bottling the following spring.
2022 is the first vintage of Terrapene produced, and the first white wine in general for Holotype. We’ve decided to make this venture into whites with Chardonel because it could be the white variety best suited to our Shawnee Hills terroir. It handles our heat and humidity quite well; much better than its parent grapes Chardonnay and Seyval. While the variety produces wines often compared to Chardonnay, we feel Chardonel consistently surpasses its parent in expressiveness and enjoyability.
This label features an Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina). Like all Holotype labels, this is a beautiful native species of the Shawnee Hills. Eastern Box Turtles can be frequently seen crossing roadways after spring and summer rains.
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100% Chardonel
The theme of 2022 in the Shawnee Hills was drought. During the growing season, the area received only about 14 inches of rainfall - seriously below average. From bud break through flowering this was beneficial in that it all but eliminated the occurrence of fungal pathogens on the canopy and fruit clusters. As the drought lingered into late summer, vines began to experience stress that limited sugar accumulation and slowed acid depletion. Few vineyards in the Shawnee Hills utilize irrigation lines, which typically are not necessary here. Some vineyards suffered more than others, but our main grape varieties seemed to manage the extreme environment well. Despite the climatic curve balls, Chardonel really developed classic aroma and flavor precursors that transfer through to this puncheon fermented and complex wine. Aromas of pear, peach, and apricot lend harmonious synergy with a full, ripe structure and flavors of apple and almond.