Winemaker Notes

A brilliant golden hue. Pear blossom, citrus and clean mineral aromatics with notes of honeysuckle, graphite, and nutmeg. A bright palate of apricot, ripe yellow pear is mouth-filling and lasting. Crisp acidity balances the richness. Medium weight with an everlasting finish. The overall structure, depth and intensity will give a very long life for years to come.

Climate and Harvest

2014 was an exceptional winegrowing season. Vintners and winegrowers in Alexander Valley reported another high quality, generous vintage. Early on, the season was marked by healthy winter rains. A warm, dry late spring led to ideal conditions for bringing grapes to maturity followed by a spring and summer that showed the lowest rainfalls in years. Uniform growing days is exactly what a winemaker wants leading up to harvest. Across the board, our fruit showed a great balance between acidity, fruit character and tannin structure leading to optimal flavor development and maturity.

As winemakers, our intention is to reveal the true character of our land and soils through variations of clones. This year we chose 7 of the 11 clones grown. Night harvesting began at midnight pre-fermentation carbonic maturations occurred 24-hours in stainless tanks allowing the skins to soften releasing gentle skin tannins and minerality richness, whole cluster pressing. Slow, cool fermentations of soft, again gentle stirring of the lees in French Oak casks each lot driven individually Malolactic was limited to 12%. Light sur lie stirring for 8 months adding rounded mouthfeel and natural clarification. With eleven months in oak, entirely French barriques from Tonnellerie Sirugue in Nuits St Georges and Louis Latour of Burgundy. A new barrel a year of 12 barrels. 8% new oak / 92%used oak.