Nose
On the nose we find enticing berry aromas with dark cherries,
blackberry seed and pomegranate along with those typical Howell Mountain scents of
fresh walnut, crushed rock, dried herbs and lavender. There are layers of rich cocoa,
espresso roast and hints of pencil shavings.
Palate
The wine is full bodied, plush and intense
with great concentration due to extremely low yields in 2008. We discover refined layers
of ripe, fine grain tannins with a truly pleasant lingering finish. This is without doubt one
of the best wines we have made. It is still young with tremendous potential, and can be
enjoyed now as well as cellared for 10-15 years
Growing Conditions
This wine is produced with Cabernet Sauvignon grown at Hughes Vineyard on the west
side of Howell Mountain. The 2008 was a small crop due to frost in the early spring. After a long hang-time, we harvested late October and early November and sorted the berries on our state-of-the-art sorting tables with a crew of twelve.
Harvest
All handpicked on October 22, 27 & 28 and November 3, 2008, and brought to the winery in our 35 lb picking bins.
Bottling
No fining or filtering prior
to bottling as we wish to preserve all the fine nuances the wine has to offer.
Winemaking
The must is cold soaked for about 7 days, using lots
of dry ice in addition to the cold glycol system to keep the must at 40°F before the
alcoholic fermentation starts. Extended maceration is common practice for us, and we
taste each tank on a daily basis until we decide to barrel down the wine in 100 % French
oak barrels. The malolactic fermentation took place in barrels.
Aging
20 months in 100 % new French oak barrels
Appearance
A pretty garnet color with purple reflections.
