Nose
A fresh spring floral bouquet unites with tropical and citrus
notes such as peach sorbet, apple, and golden raspberry.
Palate
A fresh acidity fills out the
tropical notes to a minerally sea salt, green apple, and cantaloupe sorbet
Growing Conditions
Yet another year of drought conditions began with our “rainy season” ending early,
followed immediately by flowering fruit trees opening up before the end of January.
We received only about 75% of our usual rain. Spring was long, cool, overcast and
punctuated by several windy days during flowering that badly affected fruit set. Shatter
was evident in several of the vineyards we work with; by harvest, our Chardonnay crop
was off by about 40% and our Syrah by 60%. Growing season temperatures were
steady and warm – perfect for developing the complex fruit flavors we look for, as well
as preserving the acidity necessary for mouth-watering wine. Harvest began in July,
our earliest harvest date on record at BELL, and we were completely finished bringing
in our red grapes by the first day of October, also a record. To quote Anthony, “Young
wines look to be of excellent quality with deep color and lovely fruit aromas, and initial
analysis shows no serious impacts from the series of heat waves we experienced.
Overall yields are down, but it is safe to say that while we will not have the expected
quantity to sell in upcoming years, the quality will be exceptional.”
