Nose
Overtones of black cherry,
currant and blackberry in combination with undertones of chocolate, coffee and
pepper meld with the vanilla and cedar nuances of French oak in waves of
complexity.
Palate
On the palate, concentrated yet supple tannins, and crisp acidity lead
to a lingering finish, and contribute to a finely balanced structure
Winemaking
The grapes are hand-harvested and gently crushed to retain 40% whole berries. Prior to yeasting with Bordeaux
red yeast, we cold soaked for 72 hours, increasing the richness and intensity of the fruit character. Color
extraction utilizes a combination of manual pump overs via a screen during the initial fermentation, with gentle
cap irrigation as the wine goes dry. Following fermentation the wine went through malo-lactic fermentation in
the presence of the skins while the wine macerated for up to three weeks. The free-run and press wines were
kept separate. The wine was aged in 83% new French oak, thin stave barrels for approximately 21 months and
racked every other month to naturally clarify the wine and soften the tannins. With no filtration or fining, the
wine was laid down in bottle for aging prior to release. This wine was never released as it was destroyed in the
Mare Island Warehouse fire of October 2005.
