Winemaker Notes

A deep brilliant ruby. Delicate aromas of ripe cranberry and cherry opens into revealing epths of rose petals, cassis and black cherry. A soft velvet texture imbudes the wine's smooth, round tannins, its bright acidity supporting a bright, elegant mouthfeel. This wine is round, soft and refined with elegant flavors of red currant, fresh herbs, and hints of allspice. With our dedication to French oak aging, the structure of the mid-palate shares the soft tannins while a balanced mouth feel followed by a backbone of clean acidity.

Climate and Harvest

The 2011 growing season began with an early wet winter. Bud break arrived later than usual, setting a smaller than average crop with less clusters per vine. Spring proved to bring more rains and cool days throughout. The summer remained cool throughout with temperatures cooler than usual from a normal growing season. This year proved to bring us greater challenges and to test our winegrowing skills.

Harvest began in early October each cluster hand-harvested and hand-selected over a 8-days. Initial cold soaks was 7 days then into a slow natural fermentation. Duration of fermentations went 12 days on average. Punch downs 2-4 times a day depending on the taste during the fermentations. Each lot (clones & varietal) of individually fermented and barreled down. Our Tesserae is introduced at the first racking - barrel by barrel. 20 months of elevage, with 3 rackings in the life of the barrel.