Nose
More nuttiness than outright oak on the bright nose, with some different red and darker fruits appearing, as well, a consistent toasted granola or cereal profile (consistent with past vintages).
Palate
A slight meatiness (pleasant really!) consistent with warm-hot fermentations appears, while a toasted granola or cereal, fruit, and some spice quickly become more dominant. Slightly rustic tannins on the dry finish with an integrated, not outright acidic, supple balance.
Growing Conditions
Planted by Jed Steele and Steve Tylicki on the Kelseyville bench area in 2001, this fairly obscure varietal constitutes a small percentage of the Jacobsen Vineyard, an estate vineyard consisting of mostly Syrah. A young vineyard, the fruit is coming into some very good years, and this vintage is exciting evidence of the potential from this vineyard in years to come. The Kelseyville Bench area is close to the winery, and as its name suggests is distinguished by a gentle and consistent slope down toward Highway 29 into the Big Valley area of Lake County. The bench refers to the a topographical transitional area between Cobb Mountain and Konocti Mountain (Volcano) moving from the highest southwest elevations of the area to the elevation of Clearlake, slightly below that of the Big Valley appellation. Elevation is a distinguishing viticultural characteristic of the county, affecting a shorter growing period and greatdistinct transitional soil composition with good drainage with plenty of warm for ripening, while adequate evening cooling to promote a ripe and acid-balanced berry.
Winemaking
The fermentation process was carried out with warm to hot temperatures, finally reaching around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, while the macerating procedure was traditionally conservative with three manual punch downs (the process of reintroducing the formed cap of grape skins and seeds into the juice for extraction) daily. In this way a medium bodied, flavorful wine is produced, without being overly tannic or bitter. Skin contact lasted approximately two weeks, whereby the Counoise was pressed before settling and then racked to barrel to complete malolactic fermentation and aged with extended lees contact.
Aging
The wine was aged in French and Hungarian (15% new) barrels for approximately 8 months. The aging period was carried out with an extended period on the fine lees to both soften and protect the young wine. A fairly low level of SO2 was maintained throughout this period to aid in the development of secondary and tertiary aromatic and flavor components. After 8 months the wine was clean-racked to tank, where small quantities of Grenache and Syrah were blended to the Counoise, before aging another two months in barrel prior to bottling.
Appearance
A light and ethereal red wine.
