Nose
The nose smells of fresh blackberries, cocoa, vanilla and menthol. Underpinning aromatics of pepper and wet rock are also apparent.
Palate
body is full and rich with chalky mountain tannins. The dusty Howell Mountain tannins are wonderfully balanced with the acidity. Pure dark chocolate and crushed violets are prevelant flavors on the palate with a long cigar box finish.
Growing Conditions
The one acre of Jacks vineyard atop Howell Mountain is managed by Greg Bietz, whose attention to detail is unparalleled. There is no leaf out of place or imperfect berry in the vineyard. In 2015, with the rain during flowering, we suffered poor set resulting in an over 25% reduction in crop. What we did have left on the vine resulted in perfect fruit due to the amazing climatic conditions for the remainder of the season.
Harvest
Hand picked.
Winemaking
The small amount of fruit was destemmed but not crushed, the rollers were opened to restrict tannin extraction. The wine was cold soaked for three days and punched down three times a day for 15 days at which point the color was black and the tannins were very firm. The juice was then drained off and the press was added the free run.
Aging
The wine was carefully racked twice and aged in 100% new French oak for nearly two years.
