Winemaker Notes

The 2003 vintage exemplifies a rich bouquet of blackberries, spices and subtle sweet oak mingled with dark mocha, anise and a hint of sweet floral qualities. A mouthfeel of rich, intense dark fruit and raspberry - simply pure fruit. An opulent voluptuous finish nearly conceals the bold tannins.

Climate and Harvest

2003 was a challenging year beginning at a less than normal pace. Spring arrived late coupled with unseasonably cool wet weather in April delaying vine development and bud break. With this in mind, we shaped our viticultural program around a shorter, hotter season. Warm weather prevailed from May to July with no real heat spells and continued through August. With meticulous hands on canopy management, we were prepared for the heat wave of September. 

We worked through the hot weather holding off the harvest of any fruit in September. Having prepared for a heat wave, we kept the vines from incurring heat stress. After this test of Mother Nature, we relaxed with empty fermentation tanks and waited for the slow development of perfect maturity for our estate fruit. We began harvesting the Merlot on October 17th, following with the Cabernet Sauvignon the following day and completing with the Cabernet Franc on the 24th of October.

After whole-berry crushing and cold soaking the fruit for 7 days, all 6 lots were kept separate in stainless steel tanks during fermentation. Fermentation started slowly, reaching warm temperatures of no more than 82 degrees to extract the fullest amount of color and flavor. 

Fermentation lasted between 7 to 9 days. We continued to macerate the wines on their skins for a total of 57 days from cold soak through extended maceration maximizing color and flavor extraction while developing a sophisticated tannic structure. 

The first cuvée was entirely free run out of the tanks. The second cut was drained for 8 hours after the first, and the 3rd was taken 12 hours later. All lots were kept separate gravity filling each and every barrel. We removed the pumice from the tank without any mechanical pressing and dumped this into our windrows of compost.