Nose
Aromatics include blackcurrant, heirloom tomato, aged balsamic, pine needle, tar, tobacco and sweet cedar.
Palate
On the palate it is full, rich and layered, with blackcurrant fruit, lemony acidity, and toasty cedary oak notes taking center stage. The finish is long with concentrated plum, cassis, and vanilla notes.
Growing Conditions
2007 was the third of our “Bordeaux style” vintages in a row. It was a cool and dry season that matured slowly on the vines and allowed for great flavor and color development without the high alcohol that California winemakers fight with most years.
Bottling
August 28th, 2009
Winemaking
The limited crop of fruit was rigorously sorted, gently destemmed and fermented in a small, open-topped tank utilizing a combination of soft pumpovers and hand “punch-downs”.
Aging
After macerating on the skins for 32 days, the wine was pressed and transferred to 75% new and 25% once used, tight grained Gamba and Taransaud French oak barrels. The wine was aged for 22 months in each barrel and decanted five times over this period.
Appearance
Slightly hazy, deep ruby red with garnet highlights, and very viscous.
