Nose
Brooding swirl of rich, dark fruits, resinous herbs and rain dampened loam illuminated by polished hints of sweet baking spices, aromatic woods and exotic liquors.
Palate
A juice inviting entry builds to a generous and fine-grained finish of well developed and classy tannins.
Growing Conditions
The 2009 season might be remembered as a mellow, easy, almost perfect year that avoided an extremity. A relatively mild, slightly dry winter was followed by heavier late winter/early spring rains than has been normal recently allowing us to minimize irrigation and balance vine stress. Small heat waves and rainstorms in May and June caused some shatter, naturally limiting yields and allowing the vines to focus their ripening energy on the clusters remained. The absence of the usual late-August heat wave allowed the grapes to continue ripening evenly without undue pressure or stress, developing ripe and mature flavours without excessive sugar accumulation right on through a brilliant September and early October, allowing us to harvest most of our fruit prior to rains that fell later in the month.
Aging
21 months 100% French, 94% new, 6% used
