Page 56 - Grapevine May-June 2020

Around The Vineyard
“Initially, we planted 13 different varieties in
what we called the Library Block,” Sommelier and
Director of Marketing Jeremy Wilson told The
Grapevine Magazine. “These vines sit directly in
front of the tasting room.” Today, Perissos has 16
acres under vine, with plantings of 15 varietals, all
well-suited to the Texas summer heat. Producing
vines range in age from six- to 15-years-old.
They include Viognier, Roussanne, Muscat Blanc,
Tempranillo, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Malbec, Aglianico,
Dolcetto, Montepulciano, Grenache, Mourvèdre,
Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a few
rows of Picpoul Blanc planted in 2019. “We plan to rels. “Our sweet spot for balance, blend integration
plant an additional two and a half acres of Picpoul
in the spring of 2020,” Wilson said.
While the Texas wine industry is growing by leaps
and bounds, Perissos is taking it up a notch with
its estate-grown wines. The majority of their wines
are produced from grapes grown on their estate,
with the remainder sourced from vineyards in the
Texas High Plains. “We produce about a dozen
100% estate-grown wines each vintage,” Wilson
said. “Additionally, roughly 70% of our total wine
production over the last decade is 100% estate-
grown.”
According to Wilson, many factors contribute to
the estate wine program. “The soil is decomposed
granite gravel, which is the very reason the site
was chosen to plant the vineyard. A nutrient-void,
pH neutral environment allows us to cultivate pre-
mium wine grapes year-after-year. We also have
granite, limestone, dolomite, sand and clay strewn
throughout the property as well. Good water
drainage, a solid water well, and our strategic and
focused vineyard practices all contribute to stun-
ning estate-grown fruit.”
In the vineyard, Perissos lives by a “farming first”
mentality. Rather than use synthetic fertilizers,
Martin and his team rely exclusively on sustainable
practices such as using compost and compost teas
for healthy soil. “Water stress, leaf thinning, clus- of Mourvèdre (40%), Grenache (22%), Cabernet
ter yield-thinning and hand-harvesting the major-
ity of the vineyard all allow us to grow extremely
high-quality fruit,” Wilson said. “We also hang
the clusters as long as possible, to the point of
about 20% raisining, to attain varietal correctness
and super ripeness for maximum extraction.” In
addition, Perissos can recycle rainwater with a
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65,000-gallon rainwater collection tank.
Winemaking at Perissos is a blend of the Old and
New Worlds. “We believe in minimal intervention
and prefer to let the vineyard and vintage speak for
itself,” Wilson said. “However, we have a state-of-
the-art winemaking facility utilizing jacketed tanks
for temperature-controlled fermentation, and an
in-house laboratory and bottling line.”
Perissos barrel-ages red wines and a few white
wines in French, American and Hungarian oak bar-
and tannin mellowing is approximately 12 months,”
Wilson said.
“Ultimately,” Wilson said, “our objectives are
farming first, to exceed abundantly — our true
motto as the core of our brand — and to produce
high quality, award-winning wines each and every
vintage, letting each season speak for itself.” In
Texas, vintage can be a challenge, with hot, dry
summers and early, unexpected frosts.
The current portfolio of estate-grown white
wines includes the 2017 Lucy, a unique blend
of Roussanne (48%), Viognier (33%) and Muscat
Canelli (19%); and a 2016 and 2018 Viognier,
which Perissos claims truly embodies the Texas Hill
Country with medium acid, body and finish. Estate-
grown red wines include a 2015 Aglianico; a 2016
Bella, named for the Martin’s oldest daughter,
and a blend of Tempranillo (70%), Aglianico (10%),
Malbec (10%) and Viognier (10%); a Jillianico, a
blend of Aglianico (36%), Montepulciano (19%)
and Dolcetto (45%); a 2016 Malbec; a 2015 and
2016 Petit Sirah; and a 2015 and 2016 Racker’s
Blend, comprised of Aglianico (26%), Tempranillo
(22%), Petite Sirah (20%), Syrah (16%), Malbec
(13%), Touriga Nacional (1%), Dolcetto (1%) and
Montepulciano (1%); a 2015 and 2016 Syrah;
and a 2015 and 2016 Tempranillo. Perissos also
produces two estate-grown rosés, a 2016 blend
Sauvignon (15%), Petite Sirah (15%) and Malbec
(8%); a 2017 blend of Mourvèdre (57%) and
Grenache (43%) from their Library Block; as well
as a 2012 Portejas, a fortified version of the 2012
estate-grown Racker’s Blend.
Perissos also produces several white, red and Rosé
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