Nose
This wine excites with aromas of perfectly ripened cassis,
tobacco, graphite, and clean gravel after a spring rain.
Palate
The densely textured palate is
generous in flavors of black cherry, lavender, spice, and mineral. It is a wine of excellent
focus, energy and tension, with a finish that lasts for over a minute.
Growing Conditions
The 2011 growing season will be remembered for challenging weather, low
yields, and a historically late harvest. Spring and early summer rains contributed to a cool,
wet growing season. In response to slower maturation due to these conditions, we dropped
over half of the fruit onto the ground to enhance overall ripening. The resulting wines are
Bordeaux-like in character; striking in their restraint, complexity and elegance.
Harvest
Hand harvested at night.
Bottling
Unfined and unfiltered; bottled June 2013.
Winemaking
Hand sorted, cold
Fermented with indigenous yeasts in closed-top, stainless steel tanks
6 day cold soak, 32 days total maceration
Spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrels
Aging
Aged 20 months in French oak barrels, 100% new.
Coopers: Taransaud, Darnajou, Marcel Cadet, Radoux, Seguin Moreau
Appearance
Dense electric violet in color.