2004 George's Vineyard

This velvety wine pours a deep purple-red in the glass.  The nose evokes thoughts of rich, ripe cherries, raspberries, and as the wine opens up, notes of richly tanned leather.  Bright fruit crosses the palate, notably cherries, fleshy red plums, and lovely cassis laced with a light touch of cedar around the edges.  Balanced with a sense of earthiness. 

Fermentation and Aging

3.6 tons of grapes were picked by hand, destemmed, and fermented to dryness in a temperature-controlled stainless steel fermenter with hand punch down or pump over down four times a day.  After pressing, the wine went through malolactic fermentation and 22 months of barrel aging.

The Vineyard

Our founder and winemaker, George Cooper, established this vineyard, our first, in 1972 under the tutelage of legendary winemaker Martin Ray, who provided cuttings from the original Paul Masson vineyards, which Ray owned in the 1930's and 1940's.  The 2-acre vineyard is planted on St. George rootstock and generally arranged in north-south rows with gentle slopes as it contours around George's home and the elevation changes from 850 to 800 feet.  The soil changes from gravely on the ridge to clay in the swales.

Vintage

The 2004 rainy season was dryer than normal with approximately 24 inches of rain than ended by March. This was followed by temperatures in high 80's during the last two weeks of March that stimulated early vineyard growth and budbreak. The season then cooled down through April and May. We had some heat spikes in August and again in September, but the overall temperature was generally cooler than average. All the components of a great growing season.