Nose
aromas of fresh cherry, strawberry and raspberry fruit coupled with scents of rose hips tea, menthol and leather.
Palate
Soft, supple and juicy on the palate, its fleshy black cherry and strawberry flavors are accented by zesty tea-leaf spice tones in the wine’s long, smooth and flavorful finish.
Growing Conditions
The 2008 growing season began with torrential January rains, segued into drought conditions in early spring which then erupted into the worst frost season in over 35 years in late March and throughout April. Combined with disadvantageous weather during bloom in May, these conditions significantly reduced the size of the crop throughout California’s North Coast. Fortunately, June ushered in an extended period of clear, mild summer weather, which enabled us to harvest our Rubàiyat grapes at full maturity. Despite the season’s tribulations, 2008 yielded a trove of vibrant wines boasting concentrated fruit flavors balanced by crisp acidity.
Winemaking
Rubáiyat is a blend of numerous small lots of grapes harvested at different times from multiple vineyard sites. The blend changes each year, providing winemaker Julianne Laks with the flexibility to be creative. In general, Julianne selects lighter-bodied, fruitier lots of wine for Rubáiyat. These are kept separate and fermented primarily in small, open-top tanks with manual punchdowns of the cap, a method that gently macerates the juice and skins to extract optimal color and flavor. The lots for our 2008 Rubáiyat aged 14 months in French oak barrels, 38% new, prior to blending.
Food Pairing
juicy burgers, barbecued chicken, grilled lamb and other Mediterranean-style dishes.
