Nose
Aromas of black berry and cherry,
graphite, crème brulee, and raspberry
coulis.
Palate
The palate is lush and ripe, with dark
blueberry and red plum flavors joined by
surprising red cherry and cranberry notes
that provide lift. On the finish plush tannins
carry intense cherry and savory herb flavors
through the back end, leaving a lasting
impression of depth and purity.
Harvest
After very cool growing seasons in back to back years (2011 & 2012), the 2013 vintage felt quite warm,
although it was actually close to average for Northern California. Bud break occurred very early thanks
to a warm spring, leading to concerns about an extremely early harvest, but we avoided any heat spikes
throughout the summer, which slowed things down in the vineyard. With all of our vineyards (and
seemingly everyone else’s in Sonoma and Napa) tracking around the same sugar levels, the potential for
too much fruit at once made everyone nervous, but cool weather at just the right times in early and late
September created the spacing we needed. The 2013 calendar year was very dry, but fortunately heavy
rains in November and December of 2012 provided enough moisture in the soil and water for irrigation
to last the growing season. One small rain event on September 21st and 22nd created some worries, but
little rain fell and strong winds dried the vineyards out quickly. Our harvest began at our Russian River
Vineyard on September 2, and wrapped up in Carneros on October 8.
Bottling
We final blend was decided upon
in January, and bottled in February, 2015.
Winemaking
The 1870 blend represents the top wine from our Estate vineyard in Carneros, so the exact blocks
used in the final cuvee can vary from vintage to vintage. In 2013, our favorite four barrel blend was
made from a single block, the 4-90 block which also provides the fruit for our West Slope bottling.
The 1870 is not simply a copy of the West Slope, however, as we think it shows a different aspect
of the estate, with great richness and incredible depth. T
Aging
The juice spent four weeks on the skins in
tank, and was then aged in 100% new French oak for 16 months.
Appearance
Brilliant ruby in color.
