Essences of pear, casaba and citrus in the nose are followed
by Granny Smith apple, citrus, star fruit, and firm peaches with
a light touch of creaminess on the palate. The finish is warm,
soft and lingering. Barrel fermented and aged in French oak for
10 months; 100% malolactic.
The Vintage
The 2001 vintage had about 18 inches of rain, or 60% of normal,
which ended in early March, a warm spring, and a cooler than average
summer that was punctuated by a few hot spots. Put together, this
created a long, relatively cool growing season that gave the vines
ample time to ripen their fruit in an almost leisurely manner.
Fermentation and Aging
Picked in three lots in September for ideal ripeness and whole
cluster pressed a few hours later. The juice was settled overnight,
then transferred to French oak for fermentation and 11 months
of sur lees aging. 1, 357 cases were bottled in August 2002
The Vineyard
A 5-acre vineyard on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz mountains
planted in 1979 and 1980, predominantly on St. George rootstock. The
unirrigated vineyard is on a east-west ridge and the soils change
from gravel to shallow clay as the vineyard descends from 1,000
to 900 feet.
