Barrel fermented, rich, round, beautifully balanced
100 cases
We hand picked the rows we had selected October 10th at dawn. As I remember there was almost no moon and we had to wait for light. The vineyard had been leafed on the north side only; so about 10-15% of the fruit was russeted with a few raisins within the clusters indicating full ripeness. The fruit was very cool and the juice in the tank was an even 26 brix. The other fruit chemistry was also well balanced with a 3.53 pH and 0.59 TA. We whole cluster pressed and settled the juice overnight before Claude inoculated ½ the juice with Cepage CH and ½ with CY3079 yeasts and moved to barrel for fermentation. Our barrel blend was 80% American and 20% French oak. The French being a new (Francoise Freres), and the American one and two year old World Cooperage. All were medium toast. The wine was in barrel Sur Lie for 10 months with the lees being stirred weekly. While this is extremely laborious, we hope you find that the palate has been enriched both texturally and organoleptically (taste). The wine is 100% ML positive which also helps with the richness on the palate.
We find that the wine is, round, fleshy and succulent, has a rich entry thru finish, with tropical fruits, a hint of flint, citrus crème brulee and honey notes. The butterscotch on the finish lingers pleasantly. The acidity is balanced and the wine is rich enough to go with the fat of a ribeye very nicely (Sorry vegetarians). You can enjoy a fair amount in one sitting without feeling engorged. We have had wonderful feedback from customers, friends and my associates in the industry.