Nose
It boasts vivid varietal
character beginning with enticing nose bursting with cassis, black currant and tobacco leaf.
Palate
The expansive palate opens slowly, first to impressions of red currant and mocha wrapped
tightly around a backbone of graphite and baker's cocoa. The mid‐palate adds undertones
of pie crust, lavender and dark roast coffee. Massive but fine‐grained tannins persist from
beginning to end, supporting, broadening and lengthening this exquisite wine.
Growing Conditions
The 2007 growing season was preceded by a mild, dry winter. Bud break
came early, setting a crop of highly concentrated berries in small clusters. Summer brought
ideal weather with warm, even temperatures through veraison. Late summer brought
several heat spikes followed by moderate temperatures that prevailed through harvest.
Fruit had ample time for phenolics as well as sugars to reach optimum levels. The result was
a slow, steady harvest of exceptional quality, with wines showing great intensity and
structure.
Harvest
Hand‐harvested grapes.
Bottling
Unblended, unfined and unfiltered; bottled June 2009.
Winemaking
Fermented in small, closed‐top stainless steel fermentors with indigenous yeasts
5‐day cold soak, 40 days total maceration
Native malolactic fermentation in barrels
Aging
Aged 20 months in Taransaud French oak barrels; 100% new.
Appearance
This
brooding, black‐garnet beauty is a testament to the potential for power, breadth and
sophistication afforded by this ideal terroir.
