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 season was wetter than normal by 23%, with 36 inches for
the season: 24" in November in December, with less than
4" in January and February, led into an early spring and
budbreak. A cold and wet April, however, delayed budbreak and
fruitset, but the weather turned hot in September and we began
harvest in mid-September.
Fermentation and Aging
Picked in three lots in September for ideal ripeness as we worked
our way down the ridge line 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.
770 cases were bottled in August 2004.
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.
