Magdalena

In contrast to the Inwood Magellan which is a tannic,
Pauillac-style Bordeaux Blend, the Magdalena emulates the
more nuanced Margaux style. While still expressing Texas'
high-mineral terroir, this wine displays the finer perfumes of
Cabernet Sauvignon with an emphasis on finesse and
elegance.

As Inwood's history unfolded over it's first nine commercial
vintages, several things became clear: First, unlike the
American West Coast, Texas has widely divergent vintages.
It could almost be said that every year's weather leaves a
unique fingerprint on the vintage that may not be repeated for
another decade or more. This type of variation has long been
accepted as "normal' in France, especially in Burgundy, but
is not in the lexicon of the buyer of American wines. These
consumers have come to expect, and have largely received,
amazing consistency previously unthinkable in most of the
world's viticultural areas. However, the Texas vintage
variations are both a curse and an opportunity.

Second, in most years, the dominant influence on the final
wine product is the high minerality in the Texas soil,
especially the very high calcium contents. Almost any true
Texas wine strongly reflects this character, and only in a few
rare years will excessive phenolic ripeness even moderate
the minerality. This is also both a curse and an opportunity.

It's easy to see what the curse of unpredictable weather
might be, but the opportunity it presents is a lot less
obvious. For example, in 2009, a little less phenolic ripeness
resulted in Cabernet with a slightly lighter body but higher
pyrazine which filled the winery with it's distinctive fragrance
of fruit and spicy aromas. The protocol for processing was
immediately altered to capture this perfume and create a
wine focused on this asset.

The finished wine is a great complement to, and in fact, a
"sister" wine to Magellan. By contrast, Magellan is produced
in years where warmer temperatures increase phenolics and
unlock the most tannic extraction that the vineyards
produce. While Magellan is big and brawny, it is anything
but subtle and nuanced. Therefore the Magdalena is the
perfect juxtaposition, with its alluring perfume and seductive
beauty, it is a "pretty" wine in a softer body.

The final blend was composed of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon,
with the balance being the same traditional varieties as in
Magellan: Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc.
The Inwood tradition of including a small amount of
Tempranillo with our Bordeaux blends was maintained at a
rather slight 2%.