Growing Conditions

The fourth vintage of this blend–it represents our version of a “winemaker’s wine.” Having spent so much time working in Bordeaux and visiting Burgundy, the Loire and the Rhone, I’m deeply steeped in French winemaking tradition, including its orientation toward the growing site or region. Thus, all our wines are either vineyard designates or regional blends. While Annum is an appellation wine, it is the one blend we make each year that allows us to select from a range of vineyards to make the best blend possible that vintage.

The 2009 vintage produced wonderful wines, both red and white, as the vintage came close to ideal, with steady, moderate temperatures throughout the growing season and no desiccating heat spikes.

The Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Shartsis Vineyard (Rutherford) and Schramsberg’s J. Davies Vineyard (Diamond Mountain); the Petit Verdot is from the Pedregal Vineyard (Oakville), which we harvested on October 7th, 11th and 22nd.

Bottling

This wine was lightly fined with egg whites and bottled without filtration in February 2012.

Winemaking

As with all of our wines, it went through native yeast and malolactic fermentations. This wine combines the harmony produced by traditional Bordelaise winemaking techniques with the voluptuousness of a great Napa Valley vintage.

Aging

Aging on the fine lees incorporates the oak so that the two years our 2009 Annum spent in 100% new French oak barrels is barely noticeable.