Growing Conditions

After a very cold, very dry winter, we were doused with just enough rain in March, to get the cover crop growing in the vineyard only to be quickly knocked down to prepare for a hot dry summer. Summer started early with consistently high temperatures that persisted through harvest. The last grapes were picked early October, almost a month earlier than normal. Bright acidity and concentration will be the hallmarks of this vintage.

Harvest

September 18th - October 1st, 2014

Bottling

April 23rd, 2016

Winemaking

After a careful hand sort the grapes were placed in tank. Fermentation followed normal Villa Creek protocol: anaerobic (dry ice) cold soak followed by 100% native yeast fermentation with daily delestage and foot treading along with gentle pump overs when needed. The grapes were co-fermented in two separate lots with 80% whole clusters. 40% of the wine was aged in new French puncheons.