About The Vineyard…

Sourced from Ed and Camille Penhoet’s Carmel Valley property, the River Ranch vines were planted in 1982.  Of particular interest, the cuttings were originally sourced from a prestigious vineyard in Burgundy in the‘70s and subsequently brought in to California.  This is the Mother block for the more recent planting at the Toyon Farm, which forms our designate from that vineyard.  It is a sandy soiled site with geology tracing to the meanderings of the Carmel River as well as its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.

About The Vintage...

Ample rain brought an end to our five-year drought and the 2017 vintage produced the high quality of fruit that we had enjoyed in the prior seasons.  It was an unusually wet year with a mild spring that allowed the vigorous vines to flower extensively.  Record-breaking heat in the days leading to harvest fully ripened the grapes, developing sugar and flavor, while cool nights ensured wines would retain mouthwatering acidity.  Our harvest wrapped up, with wine aging in barrel and safe from smoke damage, long before the October fires visited Napa.  Ultimately, we were gifted a smaller vintage than the originally anticipated and we were very happy with the high quality of the grapes.  Deliciously juicy, our wines excited our palates months before bottling!

About the Wine...

In typical fashion at Ancien, the grapes are gravity fed to one-ton open top tanks where the punch-downs were done by hand.  Coupled with the warm fermentation, the generous extraction emphasizes the texture and racy spice inherent in the terroir of this vineyard.  Aging for 11 months in barrel with a single racking carried this wine gently to the bottle.  3 barrels produced.

Tasting Notes...

This inaugural vintage of Pinot Noir from River Ranch displays a veritable spice rack of notes will enthrall your senses.  The wine opens to particularly unctuous mid-palate of orange-spiced tea, cherry pie, plum and cassis.  The palate is broad and generously continues to reveal more surprises - fresh herbal notes and hints of red licorice reverberate in the lovely chalky finish.

About The Vineyard…

Toyon Farm, owned by Ed and Camille Penhoet, is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros.  The topsoil is dark rich clay, averaging just around 24 inches in depth.  These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin.  The Toyon designate is now entirely from a block of Pinot noir planted on the north slope of the vineyard.   The cuttings are originally from a famous vineyard in Burgundy, via Ed Penhoet’s River Ranch vineyard planted in the ‘70s.  As the original source of the Pisoni vineyard – it also referred to as “Pisoni Clone” or River Ranch selection.

About The Vintage...

Ample rain brought an end to our five-year drought and the 2017 vintage produced the high quality of fruit that we had enjoyed in the prior seasons.  It was an unusually wet year with a mild spring that allowed the vigorous vines to flower extensively.  Record-breaking heat in the days leading to harvest fully ripened the grapes, developing sugar and flavor, while cool nights ensured wines would retain mouthwatering acidity.  Our harvest wrapped up, with wine aging in barrel and safe from smoke damage, long before the October fires visited Napa.  Ultimately, we were gifted a smaller vintage than the originally anticipated and we were very happy with the high quality of the grapes.  Deliciously juicy, our wines excited our palates months before bottling!

 About The Wine…

We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction.  About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters.  The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and with a gentle push of inert gas through racking and bottling.  45 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Our single vineyard designation from Carneros showcases the power and complex depth of Toyon Farm terroir.  Dark and well spiced, the rich mouthfeel of this wine is intoxicatingly smooth.  The bouquet is filled with notes of dark berries and earthy spiced herbs.  The brooding palate, dominated by mouth-coating tannins and mid-palate flavors of mocha and raspberry, is balanced with palate-lifting acidity.  It finishes round with chewy chocolaty tannins that accentuate a luxuriating finish that offers promise for greater things to come. This deep and balanced wine is structured to age gracefully for years, revealing ever-evolving velvety layers to explore and enjoy.

About The Vineyard…

The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in the Coombsville Viticultural Area of Napa Valley.  Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa.  Mink sits inside a small “bowl”, allowing cooler air to settle during the evenings, and making Mink’s mesoclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills.  But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the topsoil, storing moisture in its porous structure. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season.

About The Vintage…

Ample rain brought an end to our five-year drought and the 2017 vintage produced the high quality of fruit that we had enjoyed in the prior seasons.  It was an unusually wet year with a mild spring that allowed the vigorous vines to flower extensively.  Record-breaking heat in the days leading to harvest fully ripened the grapes, developing sugar and flavor, while cool nights ensured wines would retain mouthwatering acidity.  Our harvest wrapped up, with wine aging in barrel and safe from smoke damage, long before the October fires visited Napa.  Ultimately, we were gifted a smaller vintage than the originally anticipated and we were very happy with the high quality of the grapes.  Deliciously juicy, our wines excited our palates months before bottling!

About The Wine…

The grapes were destemmed into small, one-ton, open-top fermenters, with traditional hand punch downs, and aged the wine in Billon cooperage, a barrel that tends to sit subtly underneath the delicate fruit, lifting aromas without crowding them.  The wines were racked once, gently, prior to bottling.   Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and a gentle push with inert gas through racking and bottling.  258 cases produced.

Tasting Notes…

We love this opulent vintage from our tiny two and a half acre vineyard in Coombsville.  Juicy blueberry jam notes blend with pomegranate and preserved mandarin.  Fine, chalky tannins and minerality balance the hedonism of the Mink fruit and beckon you in for another mouthwatering sip.  A unique offering from this corner of Napa, this softly textural wine will excite the senses with its many complexities.  Age in the bottle will reveal the underlying depth of this wine as it evolves and broadens on the palate.

About The Vineyard...

Starting in 1999, we began an experiment with the Sangiacomo family and Pinot Gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiacomo’s planted 2 acres of Pinot Gris exclusively for Ancien, using clones that we imported from Alsace. The rich, clay soils and eastern aspect of the site, coupled with the farming expertise of the Sangiacomo’s, produces ideal fruit for the richer flavored, fuller bodied, well structured Alsatian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with bracing acidity. We are the sole winery that is sourcing Pinot Gris from this special plot, our “vineyard-within-the-vineyard.”

About The Vintage...

We finally received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture. The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well. An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth. After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity. While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came.

About The Wine...

We pressed aggressively for maximum extraction of the exotic spices and to gain additional structure. We then separated press fractions in order to insure the proper development of structure and lushness while in barrel. We fermented the must entirely in neutral French oak barrels at a cool 50 °F, capturing and retaining rich fruit flavors while also developing a lush, expansive palate. In addition, we stirred lees to enhance texture and develop additional layers. 374 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Spectacular aromatics are enhanced by a flinty, mineral mouthfeel and lingering finish. Asian pear, summer peach, and honeyed tangerine greet the nose along with fragrant white flowers and fresh Granny Smith apples. The nose is further made complex with whiffs of meringue, clove, and orange zest. On the palate, notes of stone fruit and lemon custard complement the bold fruit notes of mandarin, star fruit and green apple leading to a lingering finish of peach and grapefruit. Pair this with grilled meats, seafood, pastas with olive oil or cream sauces, Asian cuisine...the combination of its rich mid-palate, smooth tannins, and acidic structure make this wine unusually versatile at the table.

About The Vineyard…

Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the Napa side of Carneros.  This vineyard was originally planted for us in 1998 with cuttings tracing back to the Swan estate in Sonoma County and Dijon 115 - followed by cuttings from Ed Penhoet’s vineyard in Carmel Valley.  Ed’s selection from River Selection is a story into itself (ask us sometime!), and is sometimes referred as “Pisoni Clone” since Gary Pisoni took cuttings from the vineyard in the early ‘80s.  

About The Vintage...

We received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture.  The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well.  An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth.  After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity.  While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came.

About The Wine…

We separated the entire lot into one ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction.  About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters.  The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.
699 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Carneros spice blends in an endless symphony with wild berry notes.  Delicious blueberry notes grace the palate and combine seamlessly with hints of dark chocolate and juicy Asian plum.  The palate is round and full of textural, mouth-coating tannins balanced by a bright acidity.   Broad chewy tannins, earthy spices and minerality complement the fruit and exotic floral notes of this wine.  The palate will continue to develop in opulence over years of aging, revealing even darker layers and an increasingly smooth texture.

About The Vineyard…

Toyon Farm, owned by Ed and Camille Penhoet, is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros.  The topsoil is dark rich clay, averaging just around 24 inches in depth.  These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin.  The Toyon designate is now entirely from a block of Pinot noir planted on the north slope of the vineyard.   The cuttings are originally from a famous vineyard in Burgundy, via Ed Penhoet’s River Ranch vineyard planted in the ‘70s.  As the original source of the Pisoni vineyard – it also referred to as “Pisoni Clone” or River Ranch selection.

About The Vintage...

We received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture.  The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well. An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth.  After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity.  While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came.

About The Wine…

We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction.  About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters.  The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and with a gentle push of inert gas through racking and bottling. 
81 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Our single vineyard designation from Carneros showcases the power and complex depth of Toyon Farm terroir.   Greets bright and well spiced, then melds effortlessly into a rich palate coating smoothness.  The bouquet is filled with notes of dark berries and spiced herbs.  The brooding palate, dominated by mouth-coating tannins and mid-palate flavors of mocha, raspberry, and crème brûlée, is balanced with a bright, palate-lifting acidity. It finishes round with chewy chocolaty tannins that accentuate a luxuriating finish that offers promise for greater things to come.  This deep and balanced wine is structured to age gracefully for years, revealing ever-evolving velvety layers to explore and enjoy.

A Historic Vineyard…

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay.  In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture.  However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970.  He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit. 

About The Vintage...

We received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture.  The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well.  An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth.  After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity.  While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came.

About The Wine...

Inspired by the classic and most revered Chardonnay vineyard in the world, Le Montrachet, we utilize the same classic techniques.  It is fermented in tight-grained French Oak cask after a gentle squeeze as whole clusters.  The wine is not moved through the fermentation and aging period, only pushed by inert gas in gentle fashion into the bottling tank.  In vintages where the wine achieves good clarity through natural settling, the wine is not filtered – otherwise it undergoes a light polish to help reveal is core of fruit.  45 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Notes of lemon meringue and hints of lychee and key lime leap from the glass.  The palate is vibrant and fresh, and the richly textured mouth-feel is expansive, finishing long to showcase the power of these old vines.  Baked apple tart and ripe pear emerge from the full-bodied midpalate, brightened by notes lemon and kaffir lime.  The focused finish features a powerful amalgamation of ripe fruit, baking spices and minerality.  A white for red drinkers, this is a cellar worthy Chardonnay that will reveal increasing complex textural layers as it evolves over the years.

A Historic Vineyard…

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay.  In the 52 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture.  However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970.  He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

About The Vintage...

We received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture.  The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well.  An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth.  After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity.  While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came.

About the wine...

Before the harvest, Ken and Fernando walk these rows together and mark the most flavorful old vines from the original planting.  Only the original and healthiest vines are allowed to be included in this limited pick to produce this very special wine.   After the careful vine-by-vine selection in the field, classic Ancien small lot winemaking is performed using one gravity-filled fermenter, punched down by hand. 78 cases produced

Tasting Notes...

With its brilliant garnet color, this wine always displays balance, grace, and the most velvety of textures.  A lovely bouquet of roses and red licorice intermix with notes of cocoa, berries, sandalwood, and toasted grains to invite your first sip.  The fruit concentrates on the mid-palate somewhat, revealing subtle notes of cherry pie and earl grey tea.  The legendary palate is expansive, bright with acidity layered into a silky texture. It finishes with a light, understated grip, and moves backward through the finish.  It continues to evolve toward more earthen and mineral notes, spreading to coat the entire palate and continue to reveal new aromas.

About The Vineyard…

The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in the Coombsville Viticultural Area of Napa Valley. Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa. Mink sits inside a small “bowl”, allowing cooler air to settle during the evenings, and making Mink’s mesoclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills. But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the topsoil, storing moisture in its porous structure. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season 

About The Vintage…

We received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture. The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well. An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth. After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity. While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came.

About The Wine…

The grapes were destemmed into small, one-ton, open-top fermenters, with traditional hand punch downs, and aged the wine in Billon cooperage, a barrel that tends to sit subtly underneath the delicate fruit, lifting aromas without crowding them. The wines were racked once, gently, prior to bottling.   Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and a gentle push with inert gas through racking and bottling. 268 cases produced.

Tasting Notes…

This is an approachable vintage of our widely adored offering from just two and a half acres in Coombsville. It is graced with beautifully round blue fruit notes around which dance brighter notes of huckleberry and pomegranate. The finish is dominated with fine, chalky palate coating tannins and minerality that balance the hedonism of the Mink fruit. While this wine is soft and welcoming now, it will in time reveal its underlying depth. Displaying the uniqueness of Coombsville, this luxuriously textural wine will excite the senses with its many complexities.

A Historic Vineyard...

The Old Block of the Haynes Vineyard, located in a cool pocket of the southeastern Napa Valley, is a part of California winemaking history.  Among the vines in the Old Block of Haynes Vineyard Chardonnay, Ken found through examining and tasting the grapes that a handful of these vines showed “musque" characteristics.  A selection of these specific vines led to our Musque Chardonnay.

About The Vintage...

We received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture.  The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well.  An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth.  After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity.  While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came.

About The Wine...

Our Musque Chardonnay bottling is the culmination of a multi-year selection process at the Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville.  Grapes were tasted and selected on a vine-by-vine basis evaluating for the rare “musque” character.  The cuttings were then taken and planted to two rows in another section of the vineyard, which yield just a couple barrels each vintage.  The vines are all varietal Chardonnay, but possess the unique clonal traits lending the floral “terpene” aromatics reminiscent of varieties like Muscat, Viognier or Gewurtztraminer - though certainly in more subtle fashion.  This wine was made much in the same way as our other Chardonnays, fermented entirely in French cooperage.  Bottling was done after a total of 9 months in barrel.  68 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

An ethereal mélange of fruit-kissed floral notes await you in this bottle!   Honeyed orange blossom greets and then opens up to reveal tropical undertones.  The wine will continue to develop its heady mixture of fruit and floral, becoming more seductive and intoxicating over the next year.   While the lush, opulent texture of this wine point to this is as 100% Chardonnay, its uniquely bright and vibrant aromatics will keep your friends guessing about just what grape could create such a delight for the senses.

About The Vineyard...

Dick Shea planted his first vines in the late 80’s, just a few short years after Ken Bernards moved from his birthplace in the Willamette Valley to Napa to work his first harvest.  The vineyards have grown, along with Shea’s reputation for quality, and today his vines produce a disproportionately large percentage of the most renowned Willamette Pinot Noirs.  Good sedimentary soils, sitting on two well-drained hillsides, along with careful, sustainable farming practices, routinely yield quality, well-ripened fruit in a viticultural area known for wide vintage variation.  Both wine makers and wine connoisseurs look to Shea for Pinot Noirs with density, structure, and intense, spicy fruit. 

About The Vintage...

The warm, but not hot growing season of 2016 was as long or longer than previous vintages and began with an early bud break and ended by the beginning of October.  With no pressure from the weather, growers were able to relax throughout the year and enjoy a warm, dry harvest.  The vintage was ripe, aromatic, and showed more restraint than the previous more opulent vintages.

About The Wine...

Ken Bernards returns to the land of his youth, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Working with fruit grown this far from the winery produces special challenges and requires an extremely high element of trust between the wine maker and the grower.  Dick Shea’s farming skills are up to this challenge. This was the last fruit that we harvested.  It fermented traditionally in one ton, open top containers using hand punch downs to achieve optimal extraction.  Gravity provided movement from reception through pressing with inert gas used from then on.  It was aged in François Frères and Remond cooperage for sixteen months and racked once in the springtime.  203 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Another outstanding vintage from the revered Shea Vineyard!  Earthy, organic aromas accompanied by a fruit kissed perfume tantalize you in for a taste.  The rich, tilled earth is peppered with light toasty notes, dried floral perfumes, clover, rose petal and geranium flower.  Lifted aromatics of huckleberry and wild strawberry give beautiful balance to characteristic notes of earthiness.  The broad palate is generous with brambly plum and blueberry, which complement mouth-coating tannins.  While the finesse of this vintage makes it enjoyable in its youth, you can also expect many years of cellar worthiness!

About The Vineyard…

Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean, is the single source for these grapes.  The soils here are sandy loam and very well drained, typical for the Russian River Valley. The cooler sections of Russian River, near Sebastopol, are known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors balanced with acidity and earthy aromas.  All seventeen rows are planted with Dijon 115 clones, which tend to add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils.

About The Vintage...

We received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture.  The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well.  An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth.  After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity.  While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came. 

About the Wine...

We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 25% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes to the back palate and balancing the otherwise plush fruit of Gilbert’s Vineyard.  A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.   173 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Aromas of strawberry and black cherry are followed by notes of toasted hazelnut and cardamom as an introduction to this joyful blend of rich fruit and earthy spice.  The wine opens to a well integrated mid-palate of black berries and cassis.  The round palate is elevated and brightened with a mouthwatering acidity that welcomes this wine to the table.  Floral notes and baking spices are revealed in the satisfying finish.

About The Vineyard…

The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, which straddle the Santa Ynez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean. As an East-West oriented valley, opening its mouth to the cool Pacific breezes, the consistent and cooling marine influence is significant. The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted an array of clones and rootstocks on several, varied soils to create a staggering level of diversity from this single vineyard. The remarkably consistent weather, characterized by lower highs and higher lows than our North Coast vineyards, conspires with silica-laden, marine sedimentary soils to make wines of power and exceptional structure. This vintage marks our eighth working with Kathy and this remarkable vineyard.

About The Vintage...

We received much needed rain in the winter of 2015, which put us back on the road to having healthier levels of soil moisture.  The 2016 vintage began early, much like the previous vintages, and the optimal growing season caused us to speculate that this would be a very early harvest as well.  An unseasonably cool spell visited us mid-summer, slowing down growth.  After this brief spell, very warm days followed by cool nights finished off the growing season, giving us a great balance of ripe fruit and mouthwatering acidity.  While not as early as projected, our harvest still ended up wrapping up long before the rains of October came.

About The Wine...

The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days.  We utilized a combination of hand punch-downs and a submerged cap device in order to optimally control extraction from the skins.   We fermented with a combination of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts, with a peak temperature of 94°F.  The wine was aged for 17 months in an array of Francois Frères and Remond cooperage, entirely of Bertrange Oak and a majority new.  We held the wine in bottle for nearly a year before release.  
207 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Youthfully bold with notes of fruit and exotic spice, this wine is enjoyable to drink now with plenty of life to give for years down the line.  The nose greets with rich notes of black cherry, ripe blueberry, wet slate, and blood orange.  Fresh dark fruits lead the palate, and the focus settles on ripe flavors of blackberry and currants spiced with peppercorn and tobacco.  The firm, velvety and mouth-filling tannins emphasize structure, while ever present acidity balances and brightens. The spicy aromatics and flavors continue through the long finish.  Cellaring this wine for a decade or beyond will reveal a silky texture hidden beneath layers of relatively powerful tannins that dominate its early years.

About The Vineyard...

Starting in 1999, we began an experiment with the Sangiacomo family and Pinot Gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiacomo’s planted 2 acres of Pinot Gris exclusively for Ancien, using clones that we imported from Alsace. The rich, clay soils and eastern aspect of the site, coupled with the farming expertise of the Sangiacomo’s, produces ideal fruit for the richer flavored, fuller bodied, well structured Alsatian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with bracing acidity. We are the sole winery that is sourcing Pinot Gris from this special plot, our “vineyard-within-the-vineyard.”

About The Vintage...

2015 gave us a small vintage with intense flavors. An unseasonably warm winter, followed by an early spring predictably caused an early bud break and beginning to the growing year. Unlike the warmth that came after the bloom in 2014, this bud break was met with colder temperatures that, combined with continued drought, ultimately led to a much smaller crop. Summer came and brought soaring temperatures with it, so the 2015 harvest was another early one. Quality and flavor were excellent in the fruit that made it into barrel.

About The Wine...

We pressed aggressively for maximum extraction of the exotic spices and to gain additional structure. We then separated press fractions in order to insure the proper development of structure and lushness while in barrel. We fermented the must entirely in neutral French oak barrels at a cool 50 °F, capturing and retaining rich fruit flavors while also developing a lush, expansive palate. In addition, we stirred lees to enhance texture and develop additional layers. 268 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Spectacular aromatics are enhanced by a flinty, mineral mouthfeel and lingering finish. Asian pear, summer melon, and honeyed tangerine greet the nose, followed by whiffs of key lime and Granny Smith apples. The nose is well spiced with meringue, clove, and salt-water taffy. On the palate, notes of stony earth, lemon custard, and cardamom complement the bold fruit notes of mandarin, star fruit, green apple, and pear. Pair this with grilled meats, seafood, pastas with olive oil or cream sauces, Asian cuisine...the combination of its rich mid-palate, smooth tannins, and acidic structure make this wine unusually versatile at the table.

About The Vineyard…

Our Chardonnay owes it style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiacomo Vella Ranch. We hand-selected the cuttings ourselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente” or “Robert Young,” denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.

About The Vintage...

Small but intense, the 2015 vintage did not give us a lot of fruit to work with but what we received yielded outstanding wines. The drought continued and its effects were only exacerbated by unseasonable weather – warm in the winter on into spring resulted in early bud break, yet cold weather during flowering resulted in an uneven fruit set, which ultimately meant smaller crops. Once summer arrived, it brought warmth with it and led to another early harvesting vintage. Attention to detail in the vineyard meant that the grapes that made it to harvest were high quality . . . giving us wines with exciting flavors and a lot of personality!

About The Wine...

We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. For us, the watchword is balance. We pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from four different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. One third of the barrels were new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through the spring. 460 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

A beautiful mélange of citrus and pomaceous fruit, perfumed with light notes of freesia. Bright tangerine zest and creamy lemon meringue dominate, softened by notes of pear and apple blossom. Bright acidity with a generous and opulent mouthfeel caresses the palate and leads into a finish that will continue to lengthen in the coming months.  Give this complex vintage time to open up in the glass and show the full array of Old Wente Chardonnay beauty.

About The Vineyard…

Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the Napa side of Carneros. This vineyard was originally planted for us in 1998 with cuttings tracing back to the Swan estate in Sonoma County and Dijon 115 - followed by cuttings from Ed Penhoet’s vineyard in Carmel Valley. Ed’s selection from River Selection is a story into itself (ask us sometime!), and is sometimes referred as “Pisoni Clone” since Gary Pisoni took cuttings from the vineyard in the early ‘80s.

About The Vintage...

Small but intense, the 2015 vintage did not give us a lot of fruit to work with but what we received yielded outstanding wines. The drought continued and its effects were only exacerbated by unseasonable weather – warm in the winter on into spring resulted in early bud break, yet cold weather during flowering resulted in an uneven fruit set, which ultimately meant smaller crops. Once summer arrived, it brought warmth with it and led to another early harvesting vintage. Attention to detail in the vineyard meant that the grapes that made it to harvest were high quality . . . giving us wines with exciting flavors and a lot of personality!

About the wine…

We separated the entire lot into one ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.

440 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

The focused concentration of this vintage gives us a spiced nose with vibrant sour black raspberry and wild cherry cola notes.  The luxurious palate is loaded with dark berries and combines seamlessly with hints of dark chocolate, anise, and Brazil nut.  The palate is full of textural, mouth-coating tannins balanced by a bright acidity.   The chewy tannins, earthy spices and minerality complement the fruit and floral notes signature to this wine. The palate will continue to develop in opulence over years of aging, revealing even darker layers and more earth notes.

About The Vineyard…

Toyon Farm, owned by Ed and Camille Penhoet, is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros. The topsoil is dark rich clay, averaging just around 24 inches in depth. These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin. The Toyon designate is now entirely from a block of Pinot noir planted on the north slope of the vineyard. The cuttings are originally from a famous vineyard in Burgundy, via Ed Penhoet’s River Ranch vineyard planted in the ‘70s. As the original source of the Pisoni vineyard – it also referred to as “Pisoni Clone” or River Ranch selection 

About The Vintage...

Small but intense, the 2015 vintage did not give us a lot of fruit to work with but what we received yielded outstanding wines. The drought continued and its effects were only exacerbated by unseasonable weather – warm in the winter on into spring resulted in early bud break, yet cold weather during flowering resulted in an uneven fruit set, which ultimately meant smaller crops. Once summer arrived, it brought warmth with it and led to another early harvesting vintage. Attention to detail in the vineyard meant that the grapes that made it to harvest were high quality . . . giving us wines with exciting flavors and a lot of personality!

About The Wine…

We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and with a gentle push of inert gas through racking and bottling. 47 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Our direct representation of the Toyon Farm terroir, this wine greets bright and well spiced, then melds effortlessly into a rich palate coating smoothness. The bouquet is filled with notes of dark berries, spiced herbs, and cola.  The brooding palate, dominated by an almost visceral layer of mouth-coating tannins and mid-palate flavors of mocha, raspberry, and cranberry, is balanced with a bright, palate-lifting acidity. It finishes with round and chewy chocolaty tannins that accentuate a firm chalky finish that offers promise for greater things to come. This deep and balanced wine is structured to age gracefully for years, if you can keep a bottle around that long.

A historic vineyard…

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

About the vintage...

Small but intense, the 2015 vintage did not give us a lot of fruit to work with but what we received yielded outstanding wines. The drought continued and its effects were only exacerbated by unseasonable weather – warm in the winter on into spring resulted in early bud break, yet cold weather during flowering resulted in an uneven fruit set, which ultimately meant smaller crops. Once summer arrived, it brought warmth with it and led to another early harvesting vintage. Attention to detail in the vineyard meant that the grapes that made it to harvest were high quality . . . giving us wines with exciting flavors and a lot of personality! 

About the wine...

Inspired by the classic and most revered Chardonnay vineyard in the world, Le Montrachet, we utilize the same classic techniques. It is fermented in tight-grained French Oak cask after a gentle squeeze as whole clusters. The wine is not moved through the fermentation and aging period, only pushed by inert gas in gentle fashion into the bottling tank. In vintages where the wine achieves good clarity through natural settling, the wine is not filtered – otherwise it undergoes a light polish to help reveal is core of fruit. 92 cases produced.

Tasting notes...

This vintage gave us an opulent mélange of lemon meringue with hints of citrus, honeydew, and lychee. The palate is bright and fresh, and the richly textured mouth-feel is expansive and builds through the finish. Crisp apple and ripe pear emerge from the full-bodied midpalate, brightened by notes lemon and key lime. The finish is a lengthy and powerful amalgamation of ripe fruit, baking spices and mouth-watering minerality with a firmly focused finish. A white for red drinkers, this is a Chardonnay that pairs with a wide array of dishes and will do quite well in the cellar.

A historic vineyard…

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit. 

About the vintage...

Small but intense, the 2015 vintage did not give us a lot of fruit to work with but what we received yielded outstanding wines. The drought continued and its effects were only exacerbated by unseasonable weather – warm in the winter on into spring resulted in early bud break, yet cold weather during flowering resulted in an uneven fruit set, which ultimately meant smaller crops. Once summer arrived, it brought warmth with it and led to another early harvesting vintage. Attention to detail in the vineyard meant that the grapes that made it to harvest were high quality . . . giving us wines with exciting flavors and a lot of personality! 

About the wine...

Before the harvest, Ken and Fernando walk these rows together and mark the most flavorful old vines from the original planting. Only the original and healthiest vines are allowed to be included in this limited pick to produce this very special wine.   After the careful vine-by-vine selection in the field, classic Ancien small lot winemaking is performed using one fermenter filled by gravity and punched down by hand.  58 cases produced

Tasting notes...

With its brilliant garnet color, this wine displays balance, grace, and the most velvety of textures. The palate mirrors the lively nose featuring initial fruits of strawberry and cranberry intermixed with blood orange, sandalwood, and fresh herbs. The fruit concentrates on the mid-palate somewhat, revealing notes of wild berry pie and tea. The hedonistic palate is bright and expansive, with a silken texture. A deep inhale of aromas can make one imagine a walk through a freshly rained on herb garden. It finishes with a light, understated grip, and moves backward through the finish. The finish continues to evolve toward more earthen and mineral notes, as it coats the entire palate and continues to reveal new aromas.

A HISTORIC VINEYARD...

The Old Block of the Haynes Vineyard, located in a cool pocket of the southeastern Napa Valley, is a part of California winemaking history.  Among the vines in the Old Block of Haynes Vineyard Chardonnay, Ken found through examining and tasting the grapes that a handful of these vines showed “musque" characteristics. A selection of these specific vines led to our Musque Chardonnay.

ABOUT THE VINTAGE...

Small but intense, the 2015 vintage did not give us a lot of fruit to work with but what we received yielded outstanding wines. The drought continued and its effects were only exacerbated by unseasonable weather – warm in the winter on into spring resulted in early bud break, yet cold weather during flowering resulted in an uneven fruit set, which ultimately meant smaller crops. Once summer arrived, it brought warmth with it and led to another early harvesting vintage. Attention to detail in the vineyard meant that the grapes that made it to harvest were high quality . . . giving us wines with exciting flavors and a lot of personality!

ABOUT THE WINE...

Our Musque Chardonnay bottling is the culmination of a multi-year selection process at the Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville.  Grapes were tasted and selected on a vine-by-vine basis evaluating for the rare “musque” character.  The cuttings were then taken and planted to two rows in another section of the vineyard, which yield just a couple barrels each vintage.  The vines are all varietal Chardonnay, but possess the unique clonal traits lending the floral “terpene” aromatics reminiscent of varieties like Muscat, Viognier or Gewurtztraminer - though certainly in more subtle fashion. This wine was made much in the same way as our other Chardonnays, fermented entirely in French cooperage.  Bottling was done after a total of 9 months in barrel.  52 cases produced. 

TASTING NOTES...

Pure nose candy!   Breathe in the notes of honeyed orange blossom that open into tropical undertones of lychee nut. Over the course of the year, this wine will continue to develop its heady mixture of fruit and floral. The wine welcomes with vibrant, lifted aromatics while the bright palate reflects those notes, making this a unique Chardonnay experience. The lush, opulent texture of this wine completes to make it a rare treat that delights with a lingering honeysuckle finish. Lovely to enjoy now, it does not require time or pairing to deliver pure pleasure to the senses.

About The Vineyard…

Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean, is the single source for these grapes. The soils here are sandy loam and very well drained, typical for the Russian River Valley. The cooler sections of Russian River, near Sebastopol, are known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors balanced with acidity and earthy aromas.  All seventeen rows are planted with Dijon 115 clones, which tend to add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils.

About The Vintage...

Small but intense, the 2015 vintage did not give us a lot of fruit to work with but what we received yielded outstanding wines. The drought continued and its effects were only exacerbated by unseasonable weather – warm in the winter on into spring resulted in early bud break, yet cold weather during flowering resulted in an uneven fruit set, which ultimately meant smaller crops. Once summer arrived, it brought warmth with it and led to another early harvesting vintage. Attention to detail in the vineyard meant that the grapes that made it to harvest were high quality . . . giving us wines with exciting flavors and a lot of personality 

About the Wine...

We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 25% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes to the back palate and balancing the otherwise plush fruit of Gilbert’s Vineyard.  A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.   150 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Intensely spiced and fruity aromas of strawberry and black cherry mix with cinnamoned hazelnut and fresh herbs as an introduction to this hedonistic blend of fresh fruit and earthy spice. The wine opens to a broad and firmer than usual mid-palate of various black berries and cassis. The opulence and strength of flavor in this vintage is reminiscent of the outstanding 2010 vintage that has held especial vibrancy of characteristic flavors for years. The palate is elevated and brightened with a refreshing acidity that welcomes this wine to the table. Dried flowers, fresh berries, sweet cranberry orange, and baking spices are revealed in the satisfying finish.

A grand experiment in terroir. One bottle of 2014 Ancien Pinot Noir from five distinct vineyards, five distinct terrors.

about the vineyard...

Starting in 1999, we began an experiment with the Sangiacomo family and Pinot Gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiacomo’s planted 2 acres of Pinot Gris exclusively for Ancien, using clones that we imported from Alsace. The rich, clay soils and eastern aspect of the site, coupled with the farming expertise of the Sangiacomo’s, produces ideal fruit for the richer flavored, fuller bodied, well structured Alsatian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with bracing acidity. We are the sole winery that is sourcing Pinot Gris from this special plot, our “vineyard-within-the-vineyard.”

about the vintage...

2014 graced us with another pleasant growing year. Despite the relatively dry, warm winter and threats of drought, soil moisture was adequate to abundant ensuring a good foundation for the growing season. An early bud break was followed by warm weather which yielded a perfect fruit set, with up to 4 seeds forming per berry in bigger and more populated clusters. The consistently warm weather helped to bring on an early harvest since everything, even the seeds, were fully ripe and ready for the picking.

about the wine...

We pressed aggressively for maximum extraction of the exotic spices and to gain additional structure. We then separated press fractions in order to insure the proper development of structure and lushness while in barrel. We fermented the must entirely in neutral French oak barrels at a cool 50 °F, capturing and retaining rich fruit flavors while also developing a lush, expansive palate. In addition, we stirred lees to enhance texture and develop additional layers. 384 cases produced.

tasting notes...

Spectacular aromatics are enhanced by a flinty, mineral mouthfeel and lingering finish.  Asian pear, Meyer lemon, and tangerine present bold early notes, seconded by key lime and Granny Smith apples.  The nose is well spiced with meringue, clove, and salt-water taffy.  On the palate are found key lime notes, stony earth, cardamom and allspice complementing the bold fruit notes of mandarin, star fruit, green apple, and pear.  The marvelous mouthfeel is bright and steely while lingering and mineral, a magical combination.  Pair this with grilled meats, seafood, pastas with olive oil or cream sauces, Asian cuisine...the combination of its rich mid-palate, smooth tannins, and acidic structure make this wine unusually versatile at the table.

About The Vineyard…
Our Chardonnay owes it style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiacomo Vella Ranch. We hand-selected the cuttings ourselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente” or “Robert Young,” denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.

About The Vintage...
Timing is everything in life as well as in the vineyard. 2014 marked another year of record-breaking drought, however the year began with adequate soil moisture supported by well-timed rains resulting in an overall pleasant growing season. Warm and moderate weather with plenty of sun ripened grapes completely and made this an early budding and early harvesting vintage. Since everything was basically ready to pick at the same time, this made for an extremely intense harvest of long hours to ensure all the grapes received the attention they needed. Similar to the last two vintages, this year gave us an average sized crop with this one yielding soft, hedonistic wines that showed delicious fruit very early on – even in the barrel far before bottling!

About The Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. For us, the watchword is balance. We pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from four different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. One third of the barrels were new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through the spring.

650 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Greeting with notes of apple blossom and honeysuckle, this Chardonnay shows beautifully forward and bright early on in its life in the bottle. This vintage is fresh and complex with rich tones of creme brulee balancing the citrus. Mouth watering minerality completes to make this a perfect pairing for a multitude of dishes from both land and sea. Creamy citrus plays well with tropical notes of kiwi and lychee.  Lemon and key lime liven the palate, leading into a finish that will continue to lengthen in the coming months.  Old Wente Chardonnay never disappoints and this vintage is no exception!

About The Vineyard…
Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the Napa side of Carneros. This vineyard was originally planted for us in 1998 with cuttings tracing back to the Swan estate in Sonoma County and Dijon 115 - followed by cuttings from Ed Penhoet’s vineyard in Carmel Valley. Ed’s selection from River Selection is a story into itself (ask us sometime!), and is sometimes referred as “Pisoni Clone” since Gary Pisoni took cuttings from the vineyard in the early ‘80s.

About The Vintage...
Timing is everything in life as well as in the vineyard. 2014 marked another year of record-breaking drought, however the year began with adequate soil moisture supported by well-timed rains resulting in an overall pleasant growing season. Warm and moderate weather with plenty of sun ripened grapes completely and made this an early budding and early harvesting vintage. Since everything was basically ready to pick at the same time, this made for an extremely intense harvest of long hours to ensure all the grapes received the attention they needed. Similar to the last two vintages, this year gave us an average sized crop with this one yielding soft, hedonistic wines that showed delicious fruit very early on – even in the barrel far before bottling!

About the wine…
We separated the entire lot into one ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.

724 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
An intense spice filled nose gives way to delicious black raspberry and black cherry.  The luxurious palate is loaded with dark berries and combines seamlessly with hints of dark chocolate, anise, and Brazil nut.  The palate is full of textural, mouth-coating tannins balanced with a bright acidity.   The chewy tannins, earthy spices and minerality complement the fruit and floral notes signature to this wine. Patience and ability to resist its youthful hedonism will pay off over the next few years as the palate continues to develop in opulence revealing even darker layers and more earth notes.

A Historic Vineyard…

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

About The Vintage...

Timing is everything in life as well as in the vineyard. 2014 marked another year of record-breaking drought, however the year began with adequate soil moisture supported by well-timed rains resulting in an overall pleasant growing season. Warm and moderate weather with plenty of sun ripened grapes completely and made this an early budding and early harvesting vintage. Since everything was basically ready to pick at the same time, this made for an extremely intense harvest of long hours to ensure all the grapes received the attention they needed. Similar to the last two vintages, this year gave us an average sized crop with this one yielding soft, hedonistic wines that showed delicious fruit very early on – even in the barrel far before bottling!

About The Wine...

Inspired by the classic and most revered Chardonnay vineyard in the world, Le Montrachet, we utilize the same classic techniques. It is fermented in tight-grained French Oak cask after a gentle squeeze as whole clusters. The wine is not moved through the fermentation and aging period, only pushed by inert gas in gentle fashion into the bottling tank. In vintages where the wine achieves good clarity through natural settling, the wine is not filtered – otherwise it undergoes a light polish to help reveal is core of fruit. 92 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Notes of lemon meringue with hints of ripe yellow delicious apple, citrus and lychee jump out of the glass on first visit to this wine. The palate is bright and fresh, and the richly textured mouth-feel is expansive and builds through the finish. Crisp apple and ripe pear notes emerge from the full-bodied midpalate, accented by tangerine and lilac. The finish is a lengthy and powerful amalgamation of ripe fruit, baking spices and mouth-watering minerality with a firmly focused finish. The nose continues to evolve, revealing nuances throughout the finish. A white for red drinkers, this is a Chardonnay that will do well in the cellar.

A historic vineyard…

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

About the vintage...

Timing is everything in life as well as in the vineyard. 2014 marked another year of record-breaking drought, however the year began with adequate soil moisture supported by well-timed rains resulting in an overall pleasant growing season. Warm and moderate weather with plenty of sun ripened grapes completely and made this an early budding and early harvesting vintage. Since everything was basically ready to pick at the same time, this made for an extremely intense harvest of long hours to ensure all the grapes received the attention they needed. Similar to the last two vintages, this year gave us an average sized crop with this one yielding soft, hedonistic wines that showed delicious fruit very early on – even in the barrel far before bottling!

About the wine...

Before the harvest, Ken and Fernando walk these rows together and mark the most flavorful old vines from the original planting. Only the original and healthiest vines are allowed to be included in this limited pick to produce this very special wine.   After the careful vine-by-vine selection in the field, classic Ancien small lot winemaking is performed using one fermenter filled by gravity and punched down by hand.  70 cases produced

Tasting notes...

With its brilliant garnet color, this wine displays balance, grace, and the most velvety of textures. The palate mirrors the lively nose with initial fruits of strawberry and cranberry intermixed with blood orange and sandalwood. The fruit concentrates on the midpalate somewhat, revealing notes of cherry pie and tea. The palate is especially bright and expansive, with a silken texture. It finishes with a light, understated grip, and moves backward through the finish. The finish continues to evolve toward more earthen and mineral notes, as it coats the entire palate and continues to reveal new aromas.

About The Vineyard…
The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in the Coombsville Viticultural Area of Napa Valley. Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa. Mink sits inside a small “bowl”, allowing cooler air to settle during the evenings, and making Mink’s mesoclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills. But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the topsoil, storing moisture in its porous structure. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season.

About The Vintage…
Timing is everything in life as well as in the vineyard. 2014 marked another year of record-breaking drought, however the year began with adequate soil moisture supported by well-timed rains resulting in an overall pleasant growing season. Warm and moderate weather with plenty of sun ripened grapes completely and made this an early budding and early harvesting vintage. Since everything was basically ready to pick at the same time, this made for an extremely intense harvest of long hours to ensure all the grapes received the attention they needed. Similar to the last two vintages, this year gave us an average sized crop with this one yielding soft, hedonistic wines that showed delicious fruit very early on – even in the barrel far before bottling!

About The Wine…
The grapes were destemmed into small, one-ton, open-top fermenters, with traditional hand punch downs, and aged the wine in Billon cooperage, a barrel that tends to sit subtly underneath the delicate fruit, lifting aromas without crowding them. The wines were racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and a gentle push with inert gas through racking and bottling. 280 cases produced.

Tasting Notes…
A paragon of complexity, this wine displays elegance and finesse without sacrificing weight and depth. Fruit notes of blueberry, cherry, and raspberry dance upon a nose of cola and sassafras. The palate reveals mouthwatering minerality rounded with plum, dried apricots and blood orange, spiced with hints of tobacco. As always, the finish is dominated with the fine, chalky and mineral tannins coating the entire palate and lingering long into the finish.  A singular California Pinot Noir, displaying the uniqueness of Coombsville, this vintage is luxuriously textural and invites you to indulge in its opulent splendor.

About The Vineyard...

Dick Shea planted his first vines in the late 80’s, just a few short years after Ken Bernards moved from his birthplace in the Willamette Valley to Napa to work his first harvest. The vineyards have grown, along with Shea’s reputation for quality, and today his vines produce a disproportionately large percentage of the most renowned Willamette Pinot Noirs. Good sedimentary soils, sitting on two well-drained hillsides, along with careful, sustainable farming practices, routinely yield quality, well-ripened fruit in a viticultural area known for wide vintage variation. Both wine makers and wine connoisseurs look to Shea for Pinot Noirs with density, structure, and intense, spicy fruit.

About The Vintage...

Nearly ideal growing conditions in the 2014 vintage culminated in an earlier than usual harvest. Spring was warm and was followed by continued warmth through the rest of the year. Higher than normal lows at night actually broke the record for heat accumulation that was previously set by 2006’s hot summer. The abundance of sun Oregon received throughout the majority of the year added a welcome hedonism to the earthy perfumed goodness we expect from Shea. 

About The Wine...

Ken Bernards returns to the land of his youth, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Working with fruit grown this far from the winery produces special challenges and requires an extremely high element of trust between the wine maker and the grower. Dick Shea’s farming skills are up to this challenge. This was the last fruit that we harvested. It fermented traditionally in one ton, open top containers using hand punch downs to achieve optimal extraction. Gravity provided movement from reception through pressing with inert gas used from then on. It was aged in François Frères and Remond cooperage for sixteen months and racked once in the springtime. 290 cases produced. 

Tasting Notes...

The best Shea yet! Earthy, organic aromas accompanied by a fruit kissed perfume tantalize you in for a taste. The rich, tilled earth is peppered with light toasty notes, dried floral perfumes, clover, rose petal and geranium flower. Generous and ripe, the nose shows plenty of huckleberry and wild strawberry. The broad palate is generous with plum and blueberry, which complement mouth-coating tannins. While this wine will cellar nicely for 5-10 years, this is a vintage ready to drink now so buy plenty to age some if you can keep your hands of it!

About The Vineyard…
Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean, is the single source for these grapes. The soils here are sandy loam and very well drained, typical for the Russian River Valley. The cooler sections of Russian River, near Sebastopol, are known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors balanced with acidity and earthy aromas. All seventeen rows are planted with Dijon 115 clones, which tend to add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils.

About The Vintage...
2014 marked another year of record-breaking drought, however the year actually began with adequate soil moisture supported by well-timed rains resulting in an overall pleasant growing season. Warm and moderate weather with plenty of sun ripened grapes completely and made this an early budding and early harvesting vintage. Since everything was basically ready to pick at the same time, this made for an extremely intense harvest of long hours to ensure all the grapes received the attention they needed. Similar to the last two vintages, this year gave us a nicely sized crop with this one yielding soft, voluptuous wines that showed delicious fruit very early on – even in the barrel far before time for blending!

About the Wine...
We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 25% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes to the back palate and balancing the otherwise plush fruit of Gilbert’s Vineyard. A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 242 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Lightly spiced and fruity aromas of strawberry and bright cherry mix with hazelnut and fresh herbs as an introduction to this hedonistic blend of fresh fruit and earthy spice. The wine opens to a broad and soft mid-palate of black cherry, cassis, and fresh wild strawberry. The palate is elevated and brightened with a refreshing acidity that welcomes this wine to the table. The finish brings out dried flowers, fresh berries, sweet cranberry orange, allspice and cinnamon. Over the next few years, development will keep revealing sensual subtleties hidden in layers beneath the robust fruit.

But it begs to be drunk soon!

About the Vineyard...

Starting in 1999, we began an experiment with the Sangiacomo family and Pinot Gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiacomo’s planted 2 acres of Pinot Gris exclusively for Ancien, using clones that we imported from Alsace. The rich, clay soils and eastern aspect of the site, coupled with the farming expertise of the Sangiacomo’s, produces ideal fruit for the richer flavored, fuller bodied, well structured Alsatian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with bracing acidity. We are the sole winery that is sourcing Pinot Gris from this special plot, our “vineyard-within-the-vineyard.”

About the Vintage...

2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

About the Wine...

We pressed aggressively for maximum extraction of the exotic spices and to gain additional structure. We then separated press fractions in order to insure the proper development of structure and lushness while in barrel. We fermented the must entirely in neutral French oak barrels at a cool 50 °F, capturing and retaining rich fruit flavors while also developing a lush, expansive palate. In addition, we stirred lees to enhance texture and develop additional layers. 667 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Spectacular aromatics fleshed out with a flinty, mineral mouthfeel and lingering finish. Asian pear, Meyer lemon, and tangerine present bold early notes, seconded by key lime and Granny Smith apples. The nose is well-spiced with meringue, clove, flint, and salt water taffy. On the palate, the bold fruit notes of mandarin, star fruit, green apple, and pear are zested with key lime notes, stony earth, cardamom and allspice. The mouthfeel is tremendous--at once bright and steely along with lingering and mineral, a magical combination. Pair this with grilled meats, seafood, pastas with olive oil or cream sauces, Asian cuisine...the combination of its rich mid-palate, smooth tannins, and acidic structure make this wine unusually versatile at the table.

About The Vineyard…
Our Chardonnay owes it style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiacomo Vella Ranch. We hand-selected the cuttings ourselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente” or “Robert Young,” denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.

About The Vintage...
2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

About The Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. For us, the watchword is balance. We pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from four different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. One third of the barrels were new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through the spring. 660 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
This Chardonnay introduces itself with opulent aromatics of honeysuckle, melon, Asian pear, and fig accented with ripe apples and tangerine zest. Chalky, wet stone adds nuance, overlaid with decadent creme brulee and brioche. Intense palate weight and luscious fruit tannins fill the mid-palate, finishing with mouth-filling minerality. Citrus flavors are intermixed with notes of peaches, lychee, and kiwi. Toasted biscotti, freesia and lemon notes liven the palate, leading into a long, layered, and complex finish. The tannins, minerality, and clean acidity that are the calling card of Old Wente Chardonnay are in full display.

About The Vineyard…
Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the Napa side of Carneros. This vineyard was planted for us in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in Sonoma County and Dijon 115 from Burgundy. The Swan cuttings are a mass selection, rather than a single clone, originating from buds hand carried by Joseph Swan from Burgundy in the 1950s and 1960s. It exhibits layers of complexity and a deeper structure with darker flavors than the Dijon clones. The following year we planted Dijon 115 in a block adjacent to the Swan block. It represents approximately 30% of the blend. It brings its characteristic perfume and higher note fruit to complement the dark fruit and structure of the Swan Selection.

About The Vintage...
2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

About The Wine...
We separated the entire lot into one ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.
1063 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Floral notes, aromatic cedar, rose and violet mix with strawberry, and wild cherry. The palate is loaded with lush plum, berry, cola with hints of chocolate and whiffs of toast. The palate is full of textural, mouth-coating tannins balanced with a bright acidity. The chewy tannins, earthy spices and piquant minerality complement the fruit and floral notes. Patience and ability to resist its youthful perfection will pay off over the next few years as the palate continues to develop in opulence revealing darker layers and more earth notes.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD…

Toyon Farm, owned by Ed and Camille Penhoet, is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros. The topsoil is dark rich clay, averaging just around 24 inches in depth. These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin. The Toyon designate is now entirely from a block of Pinot noir planted on the north slope of the vineyard. The cuttings, originally from a famous vineyard in Burgundy, come from Ed Penhoet’s River Ranch vineyard planted in the ‘70s. As it is also the original source of the Pisoni vineyard – it is sometimes referred to as “Pisoni Clone” as well as River Ranch selection. This small block has been a work in progress, with much time spent culling out virused vines from the selection, and has very much come in to its own with recent vintages.

ABOUT THE VINTAGE...

2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

ABOUT THE WINE…

We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 164 cases produced.

TASTING NOTES...

A deeper, darker expression of Toyon Farm terroir, this wine produces a perky spiciness that melds effortlessly into a rich palate coating smoothness. Greets with notes of black cherry, exotic all spice, and clove intermingled with Asian plum and lavender and huckleberry.  The brooding palate, dominated by an almost visceral layer of mouth-coating tannins and mid-palate flavors of cherry, Asian plum, strawberry, and orange peel, is balanced with a bright, palate-lifting acidity. It finishes with chewy chocolaty tannins accentuating a firm finish that offers promise for greater things to come.  This deep and balanced wine is structured to age gracefully for ten years or more.

A Historic Vineyard…

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

About The Vintage...

2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

About The Wine...

Before the harvest, Ken and Fernando walk these rows together and mark the most flavorful old vines from the original planting. Only the original and healthiest vines are allowed to be included in this limited pick to produce this very special wine. After the careful vine-by-vine selection in the field, classic Ancien small lot winemaking is performed using one fermenter filled by gravity and punched down by hand.

102 cases produced

Tasting Notes...

With its brilliant garnet color, this wine displays balance, grace, and the most velvety of textures. The palate mirrors the lively nose with initial fruits of strawberry, cranberry, and dried cherry intermixed with blood orange, lilacs, rose petals, and sandalwood. The fruit concentrates on the midpalate somewhat, revealing fresh summer cherries and ripened, cured black cherries. The palate is especially bright and expansive, with a silken texture. It finishes with a light, understated grip, and moves backward through the finish.  The finish continues to evolve toward more earthen and mineral notes, as it coats the entire palate and continues to reveal new aromas.

A HISTORIC VINEYARD…

The Old Block of the Haynes Vineyard, located in a cool pocket of the southeastern Napa Valley, is a part of California winemaking history.  Among the vines in the Old Block of Haynes Vineyard Chardonnay, Ken found through examining and tasting the grapes that a handful of these vines showed “musque" characteristics. A selection of these specific vines led to our Musque Chardonnay.

ABOUT THE VINTAGE...

2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

ABOUT THE WINE...

Our Musque Chardonnay bottling is the culmination of a multi-year selection process at the Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville.  Grapes were tasted and selected on a vine-by-vine basis evaluating for the rare “musque” character.  The cuttings were then taken and planted to two rows in another section of the vineyard.  The vines are all varietal Chardonnay, but possess the unique clonal traits lending the floral “terpene” aromatics reminiscent of varieties like Muscat, Viognier or Gewurtztraminer - though certainly in more subtle fashion. This wine was made much in the same way as our other Chardonnays, fermented entirely in French cooperage.  Bottling was done after a total of 9 months in barrel.  71 cases produced.

TASTING NOTES...

The bouquet greets with notes of freesia, honeysuckle, and fresh peaches and cream opening into hints of key lime and touches of green apple. The palate is immediately bright and fresh, delighting with its heady mixture of fruit and floral. Welcomes with lifted and vibrant terpene aromatics as it enters the palate and finishes with lingering wisps of its distinctive bouquet.  Lovely to enjoy now, it does not require pairing to deliver sublime satisfaction.

A historic vineyard…
In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

About the vintage...
2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

About the wine...
Inspired by the classic and most revered Chardonnay vineyard in the world, Le Montrachet, we utilize the same classic techniques. It is fermented in tight-grained French Oak cask after a gentle squeeze as whole clusters. The wine is not moved through the fermentation and aging period, only pushed by inert gas in gentle fashion into the bottling tank. In vintages where the wine achieves good clarity through natural settling, the wine is not filtered – otherwise it undergoes a light polish to help reveal is core of fruit. 105 cases produced.

Tasting notes...
Notes of baked apple, lemon meringue with hints of melon, orange blossom, and citrus fill the senses on first visit to this wine. The palate is bright and fresh, and the richly textured mouth-feel is expansive and builds through the finish. Crisp apple and ripe pear notes emerge from the full-bodied midpalate, accented by tangerine and orange blossom. The finish is a lengthy and powerful amalgamation of ripe fruit, baking spices and mouth-filling minerality with a firmly focused finish. The nose continues to evolve, revealing nuances throughout the finish. A white for red drinkers, this is a Chardonnay that will do well in the cellar.

About The Vineyard...
Dick Shea planted his first vines in the late 80’s, just a few short years after Ken Bernards moved from his birthplace in the Willamette Valley to Napa to work his first harvest. The vineyards have grown, along with Shea’s reputation for quality, and today his vines produce a disproportionately large percentage of the most renowned Willamette Pinot Noirs. Good sedimentary soils, sitting on two well-drained hillsides, along with careful, sustainable farming practices, routinely yield quality, well-ripened fruit in a viticultural area known for wide vintage variation. Both wine makers and wine connoisseurs look to Shea for Pinot Noirs with density, structure, and intense, spicy fruit.

About The Vintage...
Late September rains interrupted what was otherwise a terrific growing year of mild, warm weather. Attentive farming was invaluable in preserving the best the vintage had to offer. The abundance of sun Oregon received throughout the majority of the year produced grapes that held promise of an excellent vintage. Once again Pommard clone is blended with Wadenswil to create the stellar notes our Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir has become known for.

About The Wine...
Ken Bernards returns to the land of his youth, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Working with fruit grown this far from the winery produces special challenges and requires an extremely high element of trust between the wine maker and the grower. Dick Shea’s farming skills are up to this challenge. This was the last fruit that we harvested. It fermented traditionally in one ton, open top containers using hand punch downs to achieve optimal extraction. Gravity provided movement from reception through pressing with inert gas used from then on. It was aged in François Frères cooperage for sixteen months and racked once in the springtime.

286 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Earthy, organic aromas greet you as a hallmark of this wine. The rich, tilled earth is peppered with light toasty notes, dried floral perfumes, clover, rose petal and geranium flower. Generous and ripe, the nose shows plenty of huckleberry and wild strawberry. The broad palate is generous with plum and blueberry which complement mouth-coating, chocolaty tannins. The acid lifts the otherwise dark and deep palate considerably, helping to further emphasize the well-developed tannin and minerality throughout the finish. Balanced, deep, and exceptionally well structured, this wine will cellar nicely for 5-10 years while becoming more silken in texture and adding additional perfumes to its aromatic bouquet.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD…

Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean, is the single source for these grapes. The soils here are sandy loam and very well drained, typical for the Russian River Valley. The cooler sections of Russian River, near Sebastopol, are known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors balanced with acidity and earthy aromas. All seventeen rows are planted with Dijon 115 clones, which tend to add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils.

ABOUT THE VINTAGE...

2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

ABOUT THE WINE...

We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 25% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes to the back palate and balancing the otherwise plush fruit of Gilbert’s Vineyard. A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 280 cases produced.

TASTING NOTES...

Lightly spiced and fruity aromas of strawberry, cherry, and raspberry mix with fresh herbs as an introduction to this hedonistic blend of fresh fruit and earthy spice. The wine opens to a broad and soft mid-palate of bing cherry, cassis, and strawberry. The palate is elevated and brightened with a refreshing acidity that welcomes this wine to the table. The finish brings out dried fruits, plums, figs, pepper, tobacco, and cinnamon.  The racy acidity and structure of the wine ensures this vintage will develop well over the next decade, revealing sensual subtleties hidden in layers beneath the robust fruit.

About The Vineyard…
The Red Dog Vineyard sits atop Sonoma Mountain on the cool, western side. In 2000 Tom and Debbie Engel planted this vineyard in order to replace the heralded Steiner Vineyard, and we used cuttings from our Mink Vineyard--a proprietary heirloom selection of Swan Pinot Noir. The vineyard is situated on the eastern face of a ridge, and the top is just under 1000 feet elevation. At this height, Pacific currents moving inland through the Petaluma Gap cool the vineyard almost continually. The soils are some of the most ancient soils in Sonoma County and have been leached of nutrients by wind and rain for eons. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes.

About The Vintage...
2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

About The Wine...
The grapes were destemmed into our 1-ton, open top fermenters and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day tapering down as the fermentation progressed. A warm fermentation, peaking about 94°, with additional maceration and skin contact ensured a generous extraction from these stubborn grapes. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, and a majority of those barrels were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Until bottling, all wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas. 229 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Exotically elegant, the subtle nuances of this wine are followed by a lingering finish. The nose opens to an alluring perfume of candied raspberry, rose hips, and orange peel followed by rich aromas of cigar, cedar, and forest floor. Spiced throughout with cinnamon, lavender, and sage, the fruit expands in the glass and fills the palate with fresh pomegranate, cherry preserve, ripe plums, dried cranberries, and hints of geranium, dried mushroom, clove, and mandarin. The mouth feel is soft and rich, with a considerable acidic lift. Toward the back, it reveals an earthen and tannic strength, and the finish is long and dominated by fine, dry tannins and dried spices and fruits. With age this wine deepens and softens, rewarding the palate, while also exhibiting an even more exotic nose as the bouquet develops. Enjoy the elegant fruit in its youth or cellar for intoxicating development over the next dozen or more years.

About The Vineyard...

The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, which straddle the Santa Ynez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean. As an East-West oriented valley, opening its mouth to the cool Pacific breezes, the consistent and cooling marine influence is significant. The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted an array of clones and rootstocks on several, varied soils to create a staggering level of diversity from this single vineyard. The remarkably consistent weather, characterized by lower highs and higher lows than our North Coast vineyards, conspires with silica-laden, marine sedimentary soils to make wines of power and exceptional structure. 

About The Vintage...

2013 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage.

About The Wine...

The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days. We utilized a combination of hand punch-downs and a submerged cap device in order to optimally control extraction from the skins. We fermented with a combination of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts, with a peak temperature of 94°F. The wine was aged for 17 months in an array of Francois Frères and Remond cooperage, entirely of Bertrange Oak and a majority new. We held the wine in bottle for nearly a year before release.

242 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

This is a bold and generous Pinot, rambunctious in its youth with plenty to give over years in the cellar. The nose is densely packed with rich fruits, black cherry, cassis, blackberry, grape blossom, citrus zest, orange blossom, wet slate, cardamom, and blood orange. Intense fresh fruits lead the palate, and the focus settles on ripe flavors of black cherry, cassis, and currants intermixed with holiday spice, cola, and tobacco notes. Brilliant acidity provides brightness and balance while mouth-filling tannins emphasize structure, always a strong suit for this wine. The spicy aromatics continue through the long finish. Cellaring this wine for a decade or beyond will reveal a silky texture hidden beneath layers of strong tannins that dominate its early years.

About the Vineyard...

Toyon Farm is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros and is owned by Ed and Camille Penhoet. The top soil is a rich, dark clay that averages just around 24 inches in depth. These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin. We planted the first block of this vineyard in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in the Russian River Valley--and these, in turn, were brought from Burgundy by Joseph Swan in the 1950's and '60's.  A few years later, we planted a second block of Dijon 115 vines to balance the deepness of the Swan, emphasized in these soils, with some floral aromatics.  Several years later, Ed added a third block of Pinot Noir vines with a rich and storied provenance that reaches back through the history of Pinot Noir in Burgundy’s Cote d’Or as well as California’s coastal regions--we are calling the grapes from this block the “P” clone.

About the Vintage...

A cool, consistent, balanced vintage, 2012 made people up and down the wine-producing valleys smile. There was little to no frost through bud break. A mild and dry spring encouraged good fruit set. And the summer saw consistent stretches of sunny days with temperatures peaking in the mid- to low-80’s--perfect conditions for ripening. Temperatures remained cool and the rains held off throughout the harvest, allowing the fruit to naturally and evenly ripen, developing good sugar levels and full, rich, ripe tannins.

About the Wine...

We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. Less than 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  The blocks of Swan, Dijon 115, and the mysterious “P“ clone were kept separate through barrel aging and blended afterward. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 140 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

This wine produces a perky spiciness that melds effortlessly into a rich and palate coating smoothness. Opening with ripe cherry notes, well-spiced with pepper, graphite, and clove, over top aromas of dried plum and strawberry and cranberry.  The palate is dominated by an almost visceral layer of mouth-coating tannins and mid-palate flavors of cherry, plum, strawberry, orange peel, and balanced with a bright, palate-lifting acidity. It finishes with long, spicy tannins atop a bright acidity.  This wine is structured to age gracefully for a dozen years or more.

About the Vineyard...

Our Chardonnay owes it style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiacomo family’s Vella Ranch. We hand-selected the cuttings ourselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from none other than Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente” or “Robert Young,” denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.

About the Vintage...

A cool, consistent, balanced vintage, 2012 made people up and down the wine-producing valleys smile. There was little to no frost through bud break. A mild and dry spring encouraged good fruit set. And the summer saw consistent stretches of sunny days with temperatures peaking in the mid- to low-80’s--perfect conditions for ripening. Temperatures remained cool and the rains held off throughout the harvest, allowing the fruit to naturally and evenly ripen, developing good sugar levels and full, rich, ripe tannins.

About the Wine...

We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. For us, the watchword is balance. We pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from four different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. Nearly half of the barrels were new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through the spring. 520 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Announced by rich aromatics of melon, pear, and fig accented with Granny Smith apples and tangerine. Chalky, wet stone and graphite add nuance, topped with decadent creme brulee and brioche.  Intense palate weight and luscious fruit tannins fill the mid-palate, finishing with mouth-filling minerality. Citrus flavors are intermixed with peaches and cream and citron notes and just a hint of pineapple.  Cardamom, and toasty biscotti notes, liven the palate, leading into the finish which is long, layered, and complex.  The tannins, minerality, and acidity that are the calling card of well-raised, true Old Wente Chardonnay are in full display.

About the Vineyard...

Toyon Farm is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros. The top soil is a rich, dark clay that averages just around 24 inches in depth. These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin. We planted the first block of this vineyard in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in the Russian River Valley--and these, in turn, were brought from Burgundy by Joseph Swan in the 1950's and '60's.  A few years later, we planted a second block of Dijon 115 vines to balance the deepness of the Swan, emphasized in these soils, with some floral aromatics.

About the Vintage...

A cool, consistent, balanced vintage, 2012 made people up and down the wine-producing valleys smile. There was little to no frost through bud break. A mild and dry spring encouraged good fruit set. And the summer saw consistent stretches of sunny days with temperatures peaking in the mid- to low-80’s--perfect conditions for ripening. Temperatures remained cool and the rains held off throughout the harvest, allowing the fruit to naturally and evenly ripen, developing good sugar levels and full, rich, ripe tannins.

About the Wine...

We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 858 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

A consistent vintage that produced round tannins, rich fruit, and a full mouth feel. Rose and violet mix with strawberry, cranberry, and cherry. Ripe plum fills in along with the usual darker touches of graphite, cola, clove, and pepper. The palate is full of textural, mouth-coating tannins lightened with a bright acidity. Fresh cherries, raspberries, and plum dominate. The fruit moves towards a long, tannic finish with earthy spices and piquant minerality. This wine is perfect in its youthfulness.  With the next few years it will broaden its palate and turn towards a darker, more earthy flavor.

About the Vineyard...

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

About the Vintage...

2012 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage. 140 cases produced.

About the Wine...

Inspired by the classic and most revered Chardonnay vineyard in the world, Le Montrachet, we utilize the same classic techniques. It is fermented in tight grained French Oak cask after a gentle squeeze as whole clusters. The wine is not moved through the fermentation and aging period, only pushed by inert gas in gentle fashion into the bottling tank. In vintages where the wine achieves good clarity through natural settling, the wine is not filtered – otherwise it undergoes a light polish to help reveal is core of fruit.

Tasting Notes...

A focused nose of baked apple, lemon meringue with hints of melon, orange blossom, and citrus. The palate is bright and fresh, and the mouth-feel is richly textured, expansive and builds through the finish. Crisp apple and ripe pear notes emerge from the full-bodied mid-palate, accented by tangerine and orange blossom. The finish is a lengthy and powerful amalgamation of ripe fruit, baking spices and mouth-filling minerality with a firmly focused finish. The nose continues to evolve, revealing nuances throughout the finish. This is a Chardonnay worthy of cellaring.

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

About the Vintage...

2012 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage. 140 cases produced.

About the Wine...

Inspired by the classic and most revered Chardonnay vineyard in the world, Le Montrachet, we utilize the same classic techniques. It is fermented in tight grained French Oak cask after a gentle squeeze as whole clusters. The wine is not moved through the fermentation and aging period, only pushed by inert gas in gentle fashion into the bottling tank. In vintages where the wine achieves good clarity through natural settling, the wine is not filtered – otherwise it undergoes a light polish to help reveal is core of fruit.

Tasting Notes...

A focused nose of baked apple, lemon meringue with hints of melon, orange blossom, and citrus. The palate is bright and fresh, and the mouth-feel is richly textured, expansive and builds through the finish. Crisp apple and ripe pear notes emerge from the full-bodied mid-palate, accented by tangerine and orange blossom. The finish is a lengthy and powerful amalgamation of ripe fruit, baking spices and mouth-filling minerality with a firmly focused finish. The nose continues to evolve, revealing nuances throughout the finish. This is a Chardonnay worthy of cellaring.

About the Vineyard...

The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in the Coombsville Viticultural Area in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley. Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa. Mink sits inside a small “bowl”, allowing cooler air to settle during the evenings, and making Mink’s mesoclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills. But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the top soils, storing moisture in rich clays underneath. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season. In a typical year, Mink can be practically dry-farmed.

About the Vintage...

A cool, consistent, balanced vintage, 2012 made people up and down the wine-producing valleys smile. There was little to no frost through bud break. A mild and dry spring encouraged good fruit set. And the summer saw consistent stretches of sunny days with temperatures peaking in the mid- to low-80’s--perfect conditions for ripening. Temperatures remained cool and the rains held off throughout the harvest, allowing the fruit to naturally and evenly ripen, developing good sugar levels and full, rich, ripe tannins.

About the Wine...

The grapes were destemmed into small, one-ton, open-top fermenters, with traditional hand punch downs, and aged the wine in Billon cooperage, a barrel that tends to sit subtly underneath the delicate fruit, lifting aromas without crowding them. The wines were racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 130 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

This is a Pinot Noir that emphasizes elegance and grace, without sacrificing weight and profundity. A piquant and energetic nose of blueberry, cherries, and huckleberry pie, floats atop dried currant notes, mushrooms, and wet stone. The palate reveals more stoniness rounded with plum,raspberry, chocolate and currant, spiced with notes of pipe tobaccos. As always, the finish is dominated with the fine, chalky and mineral tannins coating the entire palate and lingering long into the finish. A singular California Pinot Noir. Drinks well now and is a Chef’s boon companion.  Will mature with grace for 8-12 years.

A Historic Vineyard…

In 1966, Pat and Duncan Haynes planted their vineyard to Martini Pinot Noir and Wente Chardonnay. In the 47 years that have passed since then, there have been many significant changes in the science and technology of viticulture. However, not every supposed advance results in an improvement quality. These old school, widely spaced, cane pruned vines have found a most perfect balance point as tended by Fernando Delgado since 1970. He prunes each vine individually, according to its strength and potential, choosing which canes to keep and how many canes and shoots that each vine will grow. There is no technological substitute for this level of knowledge and experience coupled with pure love for the vine and its fruit.

Making This Wine...

Before the harvest, Ken and Fernando walk these rows together and mark the most flavorful old vines from the original planting. Only the original and healthiest vines are allowed to be included in this limited pick to produce this very special wine. After the careful vine by vine selection in the field, classic Ancien small lot winemaking is performed using one fermenter filled by gravity and punched down by hand.

About The Vintage...

2012 was a season of generous weather. Adequate winter rain and soil moisture ensured for a nice start to the growing season devoid of early frost. Ideal bloom conditions provided for a uniform fruit set. A summer of consistent temperatures without notable extremes kept the vines functioning optimally without undue stress. Late season warmth ensured nice ripe tannin and color development. In summary, this was a wonderfully cooperative vintage. 48 cases produced

Tasting Notes...

A brilliant garnet in color, this is a wine emphasizing grace and balance and the most velvety of textures. The nose is lively and initial fruits of strawberry, cranberry, and dried cherry intermix with blood orange, lilacs, rose petals, and sandlewood. On the midpalate, the fruit concentrates somewhat, revealing fresh summer cherries and ripened, cured black cherries. The palate is especially bright and expansive, with a silken texture. It finishes with a light, understated grip, and moves backward through the finish. The fruits and spices of the palate nicely mirror the nose, however the finish continues to evolve toward more earthen and mineral notes, as it coats the entire palate and continues to reveal new aromas.

About the Vineyard...

Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean, is the single source for these grapes. The soils here are loose, sandy, and well-drained, typical for the Russian River Valley, and known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors balanced with acidity and earthy aromas.  All seventeen rows are planted with Dijon 115 clones, which tend to add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils.

About the Vintage...

A cool, consistent, balanced vintage, 2012 made people up and down the wine-producing valleys smile. There was little to no frost through bud break. A mild and dry spring encouraged good fruit set. And the summer saw consistent stretches of sunny days with temperatures peaking in the mid- to low-80’s--perfect conditions for ripening. Temperatures remained cool and the rains held off throughout the harvest, allowing the fruit to naturally and evenly ripen, developing good sugar levels and full, rich, ripe tannins.

About the Wine...

We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 25% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes to the back palate and balancing the otherwise plush fruit of Gilbert’s Vineyard.  A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented and completed with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.   234 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Luscious, generous, and hedonistic.  Black raspberry, cherry cola, plums, cassis, chocolate, and tilled earth on the nose.  Similar dark and juicy fruit flavors explode on the palate, expanding throughout the mid-palate while also revealing hints of red fruits and underlying layers of pepper, vanilla bean, espresso bean, cinnamon, clove, and chocolate.  Smoky tannins draw out a finish of light strawberries and plums.  Time will temper the structured opening somewhat and bring out subtle layers of spice and the silken texture that hides behind the powerful fruit for the next 8-10 years.

About The Vineyard...

The Red Dog Vineyard sits atop Sonoma Mountain on the cool, western side. In 2000 Tom and Debbie Engel planted this vineyard in order to replace the heralded Steiner Vineyard, and we used cuttings from our Mink Vineyard--a proprietary heirloom selection of Swan Pinot Noir. The vineyard is situated on the eastern face of a ridge, and the top is just under 1000 feet elevation. At this height, the vineyard is almost continually cooled by Pacific currents moving inland through the Petaluma Gap. The soils are some of the most ancient soils in Sonoma County and have been leached of nutrients by wind and rain for eons. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes.

About The Vintage...

A cool, consistent, balanced vintage, 2012 made people up and down the wine-producing valleys smile. There was little to no frost through bud break. A mild and dry spring encouraged good fruit set. And the summer saw consistent stretches of sunny days with temperatures peaking in the mid- to low-80’s--perfect conditions for ripening. Temperatures remained cool and the rains held off throughout the harvest, allowing the fruit to naturally and evenly ripen, developing good sugar levels and full, rich, ripe tannins.

About The Wine...

The grapes were destemmed into our 1 ton, open top fermenters and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day tapering down as the fermentation progressed. A warm fermentation, peaking about 94°, with additional maceration and skin contact ensured a generous extraction from these stubborn grapes. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, and a majority of those barrels were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Until bottling, all wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas. 208 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Subtle and alluring, with a finish that goes on for a long, long time. This vineyard is maturing nicely, exhibiting its dramatically unique terroir within a package of quiet and exotic beauty. The nose opens to an exotic perfume of candied rapsberry, rose hips, cherry, and orange peelcigar, cedar, followed by more organic and rich aromas of cigar, cedar, and forest floor. Spiced throughout with orange peel, cinnamon, lavender, and sage, the fruit expands in the glass and fills the palate with fresh pomegranate, boysenberry, black cherry, cherry preserve, ripe plums, dried cranberries, and hints of geranium, dried mushroom, clove, and mandarin. The mouth feel is soft and rich, with a considerable acidic lift. Toward the back, it reveals an earthen and tannic strength, and the finish is long and dominated by fine, dry tannins and dried spices and fruits. With age this wine deepens and softens, rewarding the palate, while also exhibiting an even more exotic nose as the bouquet develops. Cellar this wine for anywhere from 6-12 year, and beyond.

About The Vineyard...

The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Sta Rita Hills AVA, which straddle the Santa Ynez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean. As an East-West oriented valley, opening its mouth to the cool Pacific breezes, the consistent and cooling marine influence is significant. The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted an array of clones and rootstocks on several, varied soils to create a staggering level of diversity from this single vineyard. The remarkably consistent weather, characterized by lower highs and higher lows than our North Coast vineyards, conspires with silica-laden, marine sedimentary soils to make wines of power and exceptional structure. This vintage marks our eighth working with Kathy and this remarkable vineyard.

About The Vintage...

A cool, consistent, balanced vintage, 2012 made people up and down the wine-producing valleys smile. There was little to no frost through bud break. A mild and dry spring encouraged good fruit set. And the summer saw consistent stretches of sunny days with temperatures peaking in the mid- to low-80’s--perfect conditions for ripening. Temperatures remained cool and the rains held off throughout the harvest, allowing the fruit to naturally and evenly ripen, developing good sugar levels and full, rich, ripe tannins.

About The Wine...

The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days. We utilized a combination of hand punch-downs and a submerged cap device in order to optimally control extraction from the skins. We fermented with a combination of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts, with a peak temperature of 94°F. The wine was aged for 17 months in an array of Francois Freres and Remond cooperage, entirely of Bertrange Oak and a majority new. We held the wine in bottle for nearly a year before release. 208 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

This is a bold Pinot Noir, rambunctious in its youth and promising to unfold with grace into its maturity. The nose is densely packed with rich fruits, black cherry, cassis, blackberry, grape blossom, citrus zest, orange blossom, wet slate, cardamom, and blood orange. Intense fresh fruits lead the palate, settling on the mid- palate with focused, ripe flavors of grape, black cherry, cassis, and currants, intermixed with holiday spice, woody notes, cola, and tobacco notes. Brilliant acidity provides brightness and balance while structure, always a strong suit for this wine, is emphasized by mouth-filling tannins. The spicy aromatics continue through the long finish. This a wine that will lay down nicely for a decade or longer, filling out the palate with rich, organic, and earthy flavors, while its strong tannins resolve into a silken and even longer palate.

About the Vineyard...

Toyon Farm is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros and is owned by Ed and Camille Penhoet. The top soil is a rich, dark clay that averages just around 24 inches in depth. These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin. We planted the first block of this vineyard in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in the Russian River Valley--and these, in turn, were brought from Burgundy by Joseph Swan in the 1950's and '60's.  A few years later, we planted a second block of Dijon 115 vines to balance the deepness of the Swan, emphasized in these soils, with some floral aromatics.  Several years later, Ed added a third block of Pinot Noir vines with a rich and storied provenance that reaches back through the history of Pinot Noir in Burgundy’s Cote d’Or as well as California’s coastal regions--we are calling the grapes from this block the “P” clone.

About the Vintage...

2011 began cool, with later bud break. Flowering and fruit set was disrupted by heavy and uncharacteristically late rain storms. This limited fruit production considerably resulting in significantly lower yields, sometimes as low as half of typical production. The summer remained cool--one of the coolest on record--pushing the harvest date back further into September and yielding wines with a tremendous, bright acidity. In the end, vineyard management and assiduous farming practices helped to insure that this well-situated vineyard ripened properly, with rich, mouth-filling tannic structure.

About the Wine...

We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. Less than 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  The blocks of Swan, Dijon 115, and the mysterious “P“ clone were kept separate through barrel aging and blended afterward. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 117 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

This wine produces a perky spiciness that melds effortlessly into a rich and palate coating smoothness. Opening with ripe cherry notes, well-spiced with pepper, graphite, and clove, over top aromas of dried plum and strawberry and cranberry.  The palate is dominated by an almost visceral layer of mouth-coating tannins and mid-palate flavors of cherry, plum, strawberry, orange peel, and balanced with a bright, palate-lifting acidity. It finishes with long, spicy tannins atop a bright acidity. This wine is structured to age gracefully for a dozen years or more.

About the Vineyard

Our Chardonnay owes it style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiacomo family’s Vella Ranch. We hand-selected the cuttings ourselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from none other than Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente” or “Robert Young,” denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.

About the Vintage

2011 began cool, with later bud break. Flowering and fruit set was disrupted by heavy and uncharacteristically late rain storms. This limited fruit production considerably resulting in significantly lower yields, sometimes as low as half of typical production. The summer remained cool--one of the coolest on record--pushing the harvest date back further into September. In the end, vineyard management and assiduous farming practices helped to insure that this well-situated vineyard ripened fully, yielding wines with bold aromatics and a soft, generous palate.

About the Wine

We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. For us, the watchword is balance. We pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from four different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. Nearly half of the barrels were new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through the spring. 406 cases produced.

Tasting Notes

Announced by rich aromatics of melon, pear, and fig accented with Granny Smith apples and tangerine. Chalky, wet stone and graphite add nuance, topped with decadent creme brulee and brioche. Intense palate weight and luscious fruit tannins fill the mid-palate,finishing mouth-filling minerality. Citrus flavors are intermixed with peaches and cream and citron notes and just a hint of pineapple.  Cardamom, and toasty biscotti notes, liven the palate, leading into the finish which is long, layered, and complex.  The tannins, minerality, and acidity that are the calling card of well-raised, true Old Wente Chardonnay are in full display.

About the Vineyard...

The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in the Coombsville Viticultural Area in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley. Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa. Mink sits inside a small “bowl”, allowing cooler air to settle during the evenings, and making Mink’s mesoclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills. But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the top soils, storing moisture in rich clays underneath. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season. In a typical year, Mink can be practically dry-farmed.

About the Vintage...

2011 began cool, with later bud break. Flowering and fruit set was disrupted by heavy and uncharacteristically late rain storms. This limited fruit production considerably resulting in significantly lower yields, sometimes as low as half of typical production. The summer remained cool--one of the coolest on record--pushing the harvest date back further into September and yielding wines with a tremendous, bright acidity. In the end, vineyard management and assiduous farming practices helped to insure that this well-situated vineyard ripened properly, with rich, mouth-filling tannic structure.

About the Wine...

The grapes were destemmed into small, one-ton, open-top fermenters, with traditional hand punch downs, and aged the wine in Billon cooperage, a barrel that tends to sit subtly underneath the delicate fruit, lifting aromas without crowding them. The wines were racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 130 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

This is a Pinot Noir that emphasizes elegance and grace, without sacrificing weight and profundity. A nose of blueberry, cherries, and huckleberry pie, floats atop dried currant notes, mushrooms, and wet stone. The palate reveals more stoniness rounded with plum, chocolate and currant, spiced with notes of pipe tobaccos. As always, the finish is dominated with the fine, chalky and mineral tannins coating the entire palate and lingering long into the finish. A singular California Pinot Noir. Drinks well now and is a Chef’s boon companion. Will mature with grace for 8-12 years.

About the Vineyard...

Dick Shea planted his first vines in the late 80’s, just a few short years after Ken Bernards moved from the Willamette Valley, his birthplace, to Napa to work his first harvest. The vineyards have grown, along with Shea’s reputation for quality, and today his vines produce a disproportionately large percentage of the most renowned Willamette Pinot Noirs. Good sedimentary soils, sitting on two well-drained hillsides, along with careful, sustainable farming practices, routinely yield quality, well-ripened fruit in a viticultural area known for wide vintage variation. Wine makers and wine connoisseurs alike look to Shea for Pinot Noirs with density, structure, and intense, spicy fruit.

About the Vintage...

2011 began cool, with later bud break. Flowering and fruit set was disrupted by heavy and uncharacteristically late rain storms. This limited fruit production considerably resulting in significantly lower yields, sometimes as low as half of typical production. The summer remained cool--one of the coolest on record--pushing the harvest date back further into September and yielding wines with a tremendous, bright acidity. In the end, vineyard management and assiduous farming practices helped to insure that this well-situated vineyard ripened properly, with rich, mouth-filling tannic structure.

About the Wine…

Ken Bernards returns to the land of his youth, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Working with fruit grown this far from the winery produces special challenges and requires an extremely high element of trust between the wine maker and the grower. Dick Shea’s farming skills are up to this challenge. This was the last fruit that we harvested. It fermented traditionally in one ton, open top containers using hand punch downs to achieve optimal extraction. Gravity provided movement from reception through pressing with inert gas used from then on. It was aged in Francois Freres cooperage for sixteen months and racked once in the spring time. 248 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Always brimming with earthy, organic aromas, and this vintage is no exception. The rich, tilled earth is peppered with light toasty notes, dried floral perfumes, clover, rose petal and geranium flower. Rich and ripe, the nose shows plenty of blackberry, huckleberry, and wild strawberry. The palate is rich and broad, generous with plum, blackberry, blueberry, with mouth-coating, chocolatey tannins. The acid lifts the otherwise dark and deep palate considerably, helping to further emphasize the well-developed tannin and minerality throughout the finish. Balanced, deep, and exceptionally well-structured, this wine will cellar nicely for 5-10 years while becoming more silken in texture and adding additional perfumes to its aromatic bouquet.

About the Vineyard...

Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean, is the single source for these grapes. The soils here are loose, sandy, and well-drained, typical for the Russian River Valley, and known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors balanced with acidity and earthy aromas.  All seventeen rows are planted with Dijon 115 clones, which tend to add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils.

About the Vintage...

2011 began cool, with later bud break. Flowering and fruit set was disrupted by heavy and uncharacteristically late rain storms. This limited fruit production considerably resulting in significantly lower yields, sometimes as low as half of typical production. The summer remained cool--one of the coolest on record--pushing the harvest date back further into September. In the end, vineyard management and assiduous farming practices helped to insure that this well-situated vineyard ripened fully, yielding wines with bold aromatics and a soft, generous palate.

About the Wine...

We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 25% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes to the back palate and balancing the otherwise plush fruit of Gilbert’s Vineyard.  A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented and completed with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.   168 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Lightly spiced and fruity aromas of strawberry, cherry, and raspberry mix with lavender and rose petal to announce this hedonistic blend of fresh fruit and earthy spice. The wine opens to a broad and soft mid-palate of cherry, cassis, strawberry pie, cherry cola, and ripe raspberry and passion fruit. The palate is well-lifted and brightened with a refreshing acidity that welcomes this wine to the table. The finish brings out dried fruits, plums, figs, pepper, tobacco, and cinnamon and cigar box. Stick some away and expect it to be in a nice, sweet spot in 6 or 7 years.

About the Vineyard...

The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Sta Rita Hills AVA which straddle the Santa Ynez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean.  As a East-West oriented valley, opening its mouth to the cool Pacific breezes, the consistent and cooling marine influence is significant.  The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted an array of clones and rootstocks on several, varied soils to create a staggering level of diversity from this single vineyard.  The remarkably consistent weather, characterized by lower highs and higher lows than our North Coast vineyards, conspires with silica-laden, marine sedimentary soils to make wines of power and exceptional structure.  This vintage marks our eight working with Kathy and this remarkable vineyard.

About the Vintage...

2011 began cool, with later bud break. Flowering and fruit set was disrupted by heavy and uncharacteristically late rain storms. This limited fruit production considerably resulting in significantly lower yields, sometimes as low as half of typical production. The summer remained cool--one of the coolest on record--pushing the harvest date back further into September and yielding wines with a tremendous, bright acidity. In the end, vineyard management and assiduous farming practices helped to insure that this well-situated vineyard ripened properly, with rich, mouth-filling tannic structure.

About the Wine...

The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days. We utilized a combination of hand punch-downs and a submerged cap device in order to optimally control extraction from the skins.  We fermented with a combination of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts, with a peak temperature of 94°F.  The wine was aged for 17 months in an array of Francois Freres and Remond cooperage, entirely of Bertrange Oak and a majority new.  We held the wine in bottle for nearly a year before release.  120 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

This is a bold Pinot Noir, rambunctious in its youth and promising to unfold with grace into its maturity. The nose is densely packed with rich fruits, black cherry, cassis, blackberry, grape blossom, citrus zest, orange blossom, wet slate, cardamom, and blood orange. Intense, fresh fruits lead the palate, settling on the mid-palate with focused, ripe flavors of grape, black cherry, cassis, and currants, intermixed with holiday spice, woody notes, cola, and tobacco notes.  Brilliant acidity provides brightness and balance, while structure, always a strong suit for this wine, is emphasized by mouth-filling tannins.  The spicy aromatics continue through the long finish.  This a wine that will lay down nicely for a decade or longer, filling out the palate with rich, organic, and earthy flavors, while its strong tannins resolve into a silken and even longer palate.

About the Vineyard...
Starting in 1999, we began an experiment with the Sangiacomo family and Pinot Gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiacomo’s planted 2 acres of Pinot Gris exclusively for Ancien, using clones that we imported from Alsace. The rich, clay soils and eastern aspect of the site, coupled with the farming expertise of the Sangiocomo’s, produces ideal fruit for the richer flavored, fuller bodied, well structured Alsatian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with bracing acidity. We are the sole winery that is sourcing Pinot Gris from this special plot, our “vineyard-within-the-vineyard.”

About the Vintage...

2010 was a challenge to the nerves as well as a chance for experienced wine makers to strut their stuff.  In other words, those with experience were advantaged with the working knowledge of how best to manage their vineyards and to keep their fruit clean and healthy.  Heavy spring rains were followed by a summer season that was significantly cooler than average.  A mid-season heat spike, with temperatures suddenly topping 100, left a percentage of clusters burned up and dried out.  As the later-than-average harvest progressed, heavy rains started earlier than usual.  Our Pinot Gris benefited from the coolness and was harvested before the fall rains.  The fruit held tremendous acidity and shows off with bright fruit and a long, lingering mineral mouthfeel.

About the Wine...
We pressed aggressively for maximum extraction of the exotic spices and to gain additional structure. We then separated press fractions in order to insure the proper development of structure and lushness while in barrel. Fermentation was carried out entirely in neutral French oak barrels at a cool 50 °F, capturing and retaining rich fruit flavors while also developing a lush, expansive palate. Lees were stirred to enhance texture and develop additional layers.  496 cases produced.

About the Vineyard

Dick Shea planted his first vines in the late 80’s, just a few short years after Ken Bernards moved from the Willamette Valley, his birthplace, to Napa to work his first harvest. The vineyards have grown, along with Shea’s reputation for quality, and today his vines produce a disproportionately large percentage of the most renowned Willamette Pinot Noirs. Good sedimentary soils, sitting on two well-drained hillsides, along with careful, sustainable farming practices, routinely yield quality, well-ripened fruit in a viticultural area known for wide vintage variation. Wine makers and wine connoisseurs alike look to Shea for Pinot Noirs with density, structure, and intense, spicy fruit.

About the Vintage

2010 was a challenge to the nerves as well as a chance for experienced wine makers to strut their stuff. In other words, those with experience were advantaged with the working knowledge of how best to manage their vineyards and to keep their fruit clean and healthy. Heavy spring rains were followed by a summer season that was significantly cooler than average. Temperatures in the Willamette Valley remained cool until just before harvest, when a stretch of warm temperatures and dry conditions brought the grapes to the finish in wonderful condition. The cooler temperatures seemed to work well for the Shea Vineyard fruit, yielding rich, fully developed flavors and bright acidity.
About the Wine

Ken Bernards returns to the land of his youth, Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Working with fruit grown this far from the winery produces special challenges and requires an extremely high element of trust between the wine maker and the grower. Dick Shea’s farming skills are up to this challenge. This was the last fruit that we harvested. It fermented traditionally in open top containers using hand punch downs to achieve optimal extraction. Gravity provided movement from reception through pressing with inert gas used from then on. It was aged in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, for sixteen months and racked once in the spring time. 179 cases produced.

Tasting Notes

Always brimming with earthy, organic aromas, and this vintage is no exception. The rich, tilled earth is peppred with light toasty notes, dried floral perfumes, clover, rose petal and geranium flower. Rich and ripe, the nose shows plenty of blackberry, huckleberry, and wild strawberry. The palate is rich and broad, generous with plum, blackberry, blueberry, with mouth-coating, chocolatey tannins. The acid lifts the otherwise dark and deep palate considerably, helping to further emphasize the well-developed tannin and minerality throughout the finish. Balanced, deep, and exceptionally well-structured, this wine will cellar nicely for 5-10 years while becoming more silken in texture and adding additional perfumes to its aromatic bouquet.

About the Vineyard...

The Red Dog Vineyard sits atop Sonoma Mountain on the cool, western side. It was planted in 2000 by Tom and Debbie Engel. This vineyard was planted in order to replace the heralded Steiner Vineyard, and we used cuttings from our Mink Vineyard--a proprietary heirloom selection of Swan Pinot Noir. The vineyard is situated on the eastern face of a ridge, and the top is just under 1000 feet elevation. At this height, the vineyard is almost continually cooled by Pacific currents moving inland through the Petaluma Gap The soils are some of the most ancient soils in Sonoma County and have been leached of nutrients by wind and rain for aeons. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes.

About the Vintage...

2010 was a challenge to the nerves as well as a chance for experienced wine makers to strut their stuff. In other words, those with experience were advantaged with the working knowledge of how best to manage their vineyards and to keep their fruit clean and healthy. Heavy spring rains were followed by a summer season that was significantly cooler than average. Red Dog, being higher and on the more maritime west slope of the mountain, weathered a mid-season heat spike with little damage. The overall cooler temperatures seemed to have been very positive for the vineyard, developing deep flavors, brilliant acidity, and chalky tannins.
About the Wine...

The grapes were destemmed into our one ton, open top fermenters and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 94°, with additional maceration and skin contact. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, and a majority of those barrels were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. 197 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

Subtle and alluring, with a finish that goes on for a long, long time. This vineyard is maturing nicely, exhibiting its dramatically unique terroir within a package of quiet and exotic beauty. The nose opens to an exotic perfume of candied rapsberry, rose hips, cherry, and orange peelcigar, cedar, followed by more organic and rich aromas of cigar, cedar, and forest floor. Spiced throughout with orange peel, cinnamon, lavender, and sage.  The fruit expands in the glass and fills the palate with fresh pomegranate, boysenberry, black cherry, cherry preserve, ripe plums, dried cranberries, and hints of geranium, dried mushroom, clove, and mandarin.  The mouth feel is soft and rich, with a considerable acidic lift. Toward the back, it reveals an earthen and tannic strength, and the finish is long and dominated by fine, dry tannins and dried spices and fruits.  With age this wine deepens and softens, rewarding the palate, while also exhibiting an even more exotic nose as the bouquet develops. Cellar this wine for anywhere from 6-12 year, and beyond.

About the Vineyard...

The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Sta Rita Hills AVA which straddle the Santa Ynez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean.  As a East-West oriented valley, opening its mouth to the cool Pacific breezes, the consistent and cooling marine influence is significant.  The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted an array of clones and rootstocks on several, varied soils to create a staggering level of diversity from this single vineyard.  The remarkably consistent weather, characterized by lower highs and higher lows than our North Coast vineyards, conspires with silica-laden, marine sedimentary soils to make wines of power and exceptional structure.  This vintage marks our eight working with Kathy and this remarkable vineyard.

About the Vintage...

2010 was a challenge to the nerves as well as a chance for experienced wine makers to strut their stuff. In other words, those with experience were advantaged with the working knowledge of how best to manage their vineyards and to keep their fruit clean and healthy. Situated as it is, close to the coast and along the Santa Ynez River, Fiddlestix appeared to avoid the worst of the weather, resulting in a bold, fully ripened Pinot Noir great tannic structure. The generally cool weather seems to have preserved acidity, making this a potential blockbuster of a wine, ready to age for a long time..
About the Wine...

The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days. We utilized a combination of hand punch-downs and a submerged cap device in order to optimally control extraction from the skins.  We fermented with a combination of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts, with a peak temperature of 94°F.  The wine was aged for 17 months in an array of Francois Freres and Remond cooperage, entirely of Bertrange Oak and a majority new.  We held the wine in bottle for nearly a year before release.  172 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...

This is a bold Pinot Noir, rambunctious in its youth and promising to unfold with grace into its maturity. The nose is densely packed with rich fruits, black cherry, cassis, blackberry, grape blossome, citrus zest, orange blossom, wet slate, cardamom, and blood orange. Intense, fresh fruits lead the palate, settling on the mid-palate with focused, ripe flavors of grape, black cherry, cassis, and currants, intermixed with holiday spice, woody notes, cola, and tobacco notes.  Brilliant acidity provides brightness and balance, while structure, always a strong suit for this wine, is emphasized by mouth-filling tannins.  The spicy aromatics continue through the long finish.  This a wine that will lay down nicely for a decade or longer, filling out the palate with rich, organic, and earthy flavors, while its strong tannins resolve into a silken and even longer palate.

About the Vineyard...
Starting in 1999, we began an experiment with the Sangiacomo family and Pinot Gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiacomo’s planted 2 acres of Pinot Gris exclusively for Ancien, using clones that we imported from Alsace. The rich, clay soils and eastern aspect of the site, coupled with the farming expertise of the Sangiocomo’s, produces ideal fruit for the richer flavored, fuller bodied, well structured Alsatian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with bracing acidity. We are the sole winery that is sourcing Pinot Gris from this special plot, our “vineyard-within-the-vineyard.”

About the Vintage...

The spring brought late rain, which prompted vigor and health in the vines, and these vines were harvested long before the unusually early rains in the fall. The harvest was earlier than usual, as it was in 2008 as well. Yields were, across almost all of our vineyard, lower than expected. So, our total production of Pinot Gris off of these eight rows was fairly low, but of excellent quality.

About the Wine...
We pressed aggressively for maximum extraction of the exotic spices and to gain additional structure. We then separated press fractions in order to insure the proper development of structure and lushness while in barrel. Fermentation was carried out entirely in neutral French oak barrels at a cool 50 °F, capturing and retaining rich fruit flavors while also developing a lush, expansive palate. Lees were stirred to enhance texture and develop additional layers. 396 cases produced.

About the Vineyard...
Toyon Farm is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros. The top soil is a rich, dark clay that averages just around 24 inches in depth. These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin. We planted the first block of this vineyard in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in the Russian River Valley--and these, in turn, were brought from Burgundy by Joseph Swan in the 1950's and '60's.  A few years later, we planted a second block of Dijon 115 vines to balance the deepness of the Swan, emphasized in these soils, with some floral aromatics.  We chose two barrels from the Dijon block for this years special Toyon bottling.
About the Vintage...
Late spring rains helped the vines to bounce back from the stress of the previous year with healthy and vigorous growth, although yields remained on the low side of average.  Steady temperatures temperatures promoted even development and led to an early harvest.  The fruit was in the hopper long before the unseasonably early beginning of the autumn rains.  All in all, the vintage provided superior structure coupled with piquant fruit flavors and lively aromas.
About the Wine...
We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 97 cases produced.
Tasting Notes...
A brooding, well-structured, rich, and textural Pinot Noir.  The nose is pronounced and spicy, opening with dried cranberry and floral notes, well-spiced with clove, cardamom, and cinnamon, over top aromas of plum and strawberry and cocao.  The palate is dominated by an almost visceral layer of mouth-coating tannins and mid-palate flavors of cherry, plum, strawberry, bramble berries, and balanced with a bright, palate-lifting acidity.  The palate moves seamlessly towards a darker finish, with the fruit flavors developing into a dried fruit complexity coupled with tobacco and dark chocolate and a zesty minerality.  This wine possesses a wonderful structural balance between acidity and tannins and promises to age gracefully, plumbing the depth of its hidden layers for the next 10-12 years.

About the Vineyard...
Our Chardonnay owes it style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiacomo family’s Vella Ranch. We hand-selected the cuttings ourselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from none other than Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente” or “Robert Young,” denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.
About the Vintage...
Late spring rains helped the vines to bounce back from the stress of the previous year with healthy and vigorous growth, although yields remained on the low side of average.  Steady temperatures temperatures promoted even development and led to an early harvest.  The fruit was in the hopper long before the unseasonably early beginning of the autumn rains.  All in all, the vintage provided superior structure coupled with piquant fruit flavors and lively aromas.  This wine stands, in our opinion, as one of our finest Chardonnay vintages.
About the Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. For us, the watchword is balance. We pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from three different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. Nearly half of the barrels were new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through the spring.  440 cases produced.
Tasting Notes...
Powerful, focused fruit announces the wine immediately.  Nectarine, yellow peach, key lime, citric zest, lemon cream, and Asian pear overlay complex notes of fig, brioche, ripe melons, and cardamom.  Intense palate weight and luscious fruit tannins are countered by a full, zesty acidity that lifts and carries the fruit towards the finish, layering atop the mouth-filling minerality that carries throughout the entire finish.   Bright apple and pear flavors are intermixed with focused peach and citron notes.  Spices, clove, cardamom, and toasty biscotti notes, liven the palate, leading into the finish which is long, layered, and complex.  The tannins, minerality, and acidity that are the calling card of well-raised, true Old Wente Chardonnay are in full display.  This is a wine to enjoy now, in its youth, however, its truest personality and complete depth will continue to unfold for several years to come.

About the Vineyard...
Starting in 1999, we began an experiment with the Sangiacomo family and Pinot Gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiacomo’s planted 2 acres of Pinot Gris exclusively for Ancien, using clones that we imported from Alsace. The rich, clay soils and eastern aspect of the site, coupled with the farming expertise of the Sangiocomo’s, produces ideal fruit for the richer flavored, fuller bodied, well structured Alsatian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with bracing acidity. We are the sole winery that is sourcing Pinot Gris from this special plot, our “vineyard-within-the-vineyard.”

About the Vintage...
2008 started out with some difficulty, with the vines suffering a terrific frost and drought conditions.  The frost, however, proved to have a silver lining, limiting yields severely and so enabling the vines to weather the drought nicely.  In other words, the vines were able to produce excellent quality, though at significantly lower quantities.  Warmer than average mornings, through much of the summer, gave a boost to the vines, and harvest actually arrived earlier than usual.  We picked this vineyard a full 16 days earlier than the previous three vintages.  The fruit possesses the structure and acidity that we have come to expect from this vineyard, and shows the warmth of the vintage in its softer mid-palate.

About the Wine...
We pressed aggressively for maximum extraction of the exotic spices and to gain additional structure. We then separated press fractions in order to insure the proper development of structure and lushness while in barrel. Fermentation was carried out entirely in neutral French oak barrels at a cool 50 °F, capturing and retaining rich fruit flavors while also developing a lush, expansive palate. Lees were stirred to enhance texture and develop additional layers.  467 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Tangerine, honeysuckle, Asian pear, orange blossom, and honey--with a whiff of marzipan and jasmine--provide the exotic backdrop to our Pinot Gris. The palate expands and softens into round melon flavors mixed with apricot and ripe tangerine, finishing with a smooth viscosity braced by key lime and acidity. Mineral and spice notes mingle with tropical fruit for a long finish.  Pair this with grilled meats, seafood, pastas with olive oil or cream sauces, Asian cuisine...the combination of its rich mid-palate, smooth tannins, and acidic structure make this wine unusually versatile at the table.

About the Vineyard...
Toyon Farm is located on a southwest-facing slope on the eastern (Napa) side of the Carneros. The top soil is a rich, dark clay that averages just around 24 inches in depth. These soils promote a dark, brooding fruit, emphasizing texture and tannin. We planted the first block of this vineyard in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in the Russian River Valley--and these, in turn, were brought from Burgundy by Joseph Swan in the 1950's and '60's.  A few years later, we planted a second block of Dijon 115 vines to balance the deepness of the Swan, emphasized in these soils, with some floral aromatics.

About the Vintage...
2008 was a lesson in the primary importance of balance in the vineyard. A drier than usual winter exacerbated the existing drought conditions, and a late spring series of frosty mornings cut down the yields considerably. A summer full of warm mornings coddled the fruit as it developed and made for an earlier than average harvest. The lower yields made it possible for the vines to withstand the stress of the drought and deliver healthy, ripe fruit full of concentrated fruit flavor. The vines achieved this level of balance naturally, and what started out like difficult year resolved itself into a solid vintage, emphasizing concentrated fruit flavors and subtle tannins.  The density of the fruit illuminated a different side of the Dijon fruit, producing a wine with an intense palate and a long, subtle finish in addition to the more typical and frontal aromatics.

About the Wine...
We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.

Tasting Notes...
As usual, this is a brooding Pinot Noir, emphasizing dark flavors and rich textures. However, the nose is more explosive than usual leading with ripe berries kirsch, dried rose petals, strawberries and ripe plums accented by cacao, clove, and cardamom. The palate opens with more spices and mid-palate of plum, strawberry, and cherry. The palate continues to develop richness, filling the mouth nicely with round, ripe fruits. The weight is nicely counter-balanced by a bright acidity, and the finish moves again towards dried fruits, tobacco and dark chocolate, with a lingering and rich minerality.  The wine is well-structured and will continue to gain depth and subtly for next next 5-8 years.

About the Vineyard...
The vast majority of this vintage comes from Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean. The soils here are loose, sandy, and well-drained, typical for the Russian River Valley, and known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors balanced with acidity and earthy aromas.  All seventeen rows are planted with Dijon 115 clones, which tend to add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils.

About the Vintage...
2008 was a lesson in the primary importance of balance in the vineyard.  A drier than usual winter exacerbated the existing drought conditions, and a late spring series of frosty mornings cut down the yields considerably.  A summer full of warm mornings coddled the fruit as it developed and made for an earlier than average harvest.  The lower yields made it possible for the vines to withstand the stress of the drought and deliver healthy, ripe fruit full of concentrated fruit flavor.  The vines achieved this level of balance naturally, and what started out like difficult year resolved itself into a very solid vintage.

About the Wine...
We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 25% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes to the back palate and balancing the otherwise plush fruit of Gilbert’s Vineyard.  In addition, we added a small amount of Dijon clones 115 and 777 from the Archer Vineyard.  A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented and completed with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.   437 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
As is usual for this wine, the nose and palate mirror and reference one another with repeating themes of concentrated dark fruits and rich, earthy spices.  Black cherry, plums, blackberry, cassis, strawberry pie, and candied violet layer over top of hidden whiffs of cherry cola, cinnamon, tilled earth, holiday spice, and aromatic tobaccos on the nose.  Similar dark and juicy fruit flavors explode on the palate, expanding throughout the mid-palate while also revealing hints of red fruits and underlying layers of pepper, vanilla bean, espresso bean, and cacao.  Smoky tannins draw out a finish of light strawberries and plums.  Normally considered our most hedonistic Pinot Noir, the 2008 vintage from the Russian River emphasizes this unctuous and indulgent side of the often sophisticated Pinot Noir grape.  This wine drinks well in its youth.  Time will temper the concentration somewhat and bring out subtle layers of spice and the silken texture that hides behind the powerful fruit for the next 5-7 years.

About the Vineyard...
The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Sta Rita Hills AVA which straddle the Santa Inez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean.  As a East-West oriented valley, opening its mouth to the cool Pacific breezes, the consistent and cooling marine influence is significant.  The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted an array of clones and rootstocks on several various soils to create a staggering level of diversity from this single vineyard.  The remarkably consistent weather, characterized by lower highs and higher lows than valley floor vineyard throughout the North Coast, conspires with marine sedimentary soils and alluvials to make wines of power and exceptional structure.  This vintage marks our fifth, working with Kathy and this remarkable vineyard.

About the Vintage...
2008 was a lesson in the primary importance of balance in the vineyard. A drier than usual winter exacerbated the existing drought conditions, and a late spring series of frosty mornings cut down the yields considerably. The marine currents protected the vines from frost, for the most part, however yields remained a bit lower than usual. A summer full of warm mornings coddled the fruit as it developed and made for an earlier than average harvest. The lower yields made it possible for the vines to withstand the stress of the drought and deliver healthy, ripe fruit full of concentrated fruit flavor. The vines achieved this level of balance naturally, and what started out like difficult year resolved itself into a very solid vintage.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days. We utilized a combination of hand punch-downs and a submerged cap device to achieve optimal extraction from the skins.  We fermented with a combination of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts, with a peak temperature of 94°F.  The wine was aged for 17 months in an array of Francois Freres and Remond cooperage, entirely of Bertrange Oak and a majority new.  We held the wine in bottle for nearly a year before release.  173 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
This wine exemplifies the concentration of flavors that we found to be so typical of the 2008 vintage.  Intense, fresh dark fruits lead the palate, settling on the mid-palate with focused, ripe flavors of strawberry, cassis, and currants.  The nose is enticing and layered, with fresh fruits laying over top of holiday spices, tobacco, and stony earth.   Good acidity provides brightness and balance, while structure, always a strong suit for this wine, is emphasized by mouth-filling tannins.  The spicy aromatics continue through the long finish.  This a wine that will lay down nicely for a decade, filling out the palate with rich, organic, and earthy flavors, while its strong tannins resolve into a silken and even longer palate.

About the Vineyard...
Our Chardonnay owes it style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiacomo family’s Vella Ranch. We hand-selected the cuttings ourselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from none other than Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente” or “Robert Young,” denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.

About the Vintage...
The weather in 2007 remained cool and steady throughout August and September, allowing the grapes to achieve optimal ripeness levels without sacrificing acidity, resulting in wines that come close to that difficult to realize platonic point of balance between power and grace, depth and vivacity.  Our Chardonnay, as usual, came in after much of our Pinot Noir, with intense flavors and a high, balanced acidity.  This combination has yielded a Chardonnay with tremendous structure and power, and a promise of even greater complexity with time in the bottle.  In light of this, we opted to hold this wine until September 2009 before releasing it for sale, giving it an extra five months in the bottle and allowing it to reveal more of the complexity and nuance that makes this a truly memorable Chardonnay, worthy of any table.

About the Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. For us, the watchword is balance. We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from three different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. Nearly half of the barrels were new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through May.  584 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Power, opulent and layered fruit:melon, clementine, nectarine, yellow peach, figs, key lime, and lemon cream aromas are layered above brioche, cloves, cardamon, and crème brulleé. Powerful, ripe apple, pear, and citrus flavors coupled with minerality and lush textures of fruit tannins and lees present a palate that is both mouth-filling and lengthy.  The fruit flavors and rich textures continue through the finish, uplifted by bright citrus notes and acidity. As the finish lingers, the wine strikes a compelling balance between texture, minerality, and acidity.

About the Vineyard...
Starting in 1999, we began an experiment with the Sangiocomo family and pinot gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiocomo’s planted 2 acres of pinot gris exclusively for Ancien, using imported Alsacian clones. The rich, clay soils and eastern aspect of the site, coupled with the farming expertise of the Sangiocomo’s, produces ideal fruit for the richer flavored, fuller bodied, well structured Alsacian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with bracing acidity. Currently, we are the only winery that is sourcing pinot gris from this vineyard.

About the Vintage...
2007 was just slightly warmer than the previous vintage, however, the heat was even, with no major spikes to disrupt a long, slow ripening. The grapes retained their acidity nicely, reaching a full and well-balanced ripeness. We harvested at night on September 26, just one day earlier than the past two vintages. A nice sign, we think, for the vineyard and its development.

About the Wine...
We pressed aggressively for maximum extraction of the exotic spices and to gain additional structure. We then separated press fractions in order to insure the proper development of structure and lushness while in barrel. Fermentation was carried out entirely in neutral French oak barrels at a cool 50 °F, capturing and retaining rich fruit flavors while also developing a lush, expansive palate. Lees were stirred to enhance texture and develop additional layers. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.49, TA 6.5 g/l. , RS 0.5 g/l. 550 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Tangerine, honeysuckle, grapefruit, Asian pear, orange blossom, and honey--with a whiff of marzipan--provide the exotic backdrop to our pinot gris. The palate expands with soft and round melon flavors and a smooth viscosity braced by key lime and acidity. Mineral and spice notes mingle with tropical fruit for a long finish.

About the Vineyard...
Our 2007 Carneros designate comes predominantly from the Toyon Farm, located on the eastern, Napa, side of Carneros, on a fan-shaped, south-west facing slope. Underneath the typical Carneros clay and alluvial soils are layers of shale, which add spicy notes to the darker, more brooding flavors and aromas. We planted the first block of this vineyard in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in the Russian River Valley--and these, in turn, were brought from Burgundy by Joseph Swan in the 1950's and '60's. Our selection of Swan clones tends to produce smaller berries and deep structures. So, in 1999, we added a block of Dijon 115, which with its characteristic perfume and lighter fruit notes, provides a winning complement to the Swan.  In addition, we introduced a small amount of old vine, Martini selection fruit from a nearby vineyard, adding lighter layers of floral aromas, sandalwood, and red fruits.

About the Vintage...
The weather in 2007 remained cool and steady throughout August and September, allowing the grapes to achieve optimal ripeness levels without sacrificing acidity, resulting in wines that come close to that difficult to realize platonic point of balance between power and grace, depth and vivacity.  We expect that our decision to pick while acidity remained high, as well as our detailed attention to maximum fruit extraction, will allow these wines to preserve bright uplift and focused fruit on the mid-palate, even as they continue to age, deepening and adding exciting layers, such as spice, mushroom, cacao, and forest floor.

About the Wine...
We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters, and we co-fermented some of the Swam and Dijon 115 lots, adding new layers of complexity and harmony between the different fruits.  The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling. 1031 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
The nose opens with a burst of fresh, just-ripened cherry fruits moving towards a richer dried cranberry and kirsch, spiced with chocolate, cloves, and baking spices.  Aromas open up to exhibit an exotic, perfumed overlay of sarsaparilla, cola, sandalwood, rose petal and lilac.  The palate is well-structured, exhibiting a balanced basket of black, brambly fruit, plum, ripe cherry and strawberry, spiced with cardamom and dark chocolate.  The midpalate is lush and deep, lifted with a fresh wash of acidity and followed by mouth-filling tannins.  This wine will grow darker and deeper with time, finding a more brooding expression after 3-5 years, and the balanced structure of acidity and tannin will support the graceful aging of this wine for the next decade.

About the Vineyard...
This block of the Haynes Vineyard, located in a cool pocket of the southeastern Napa Valley, is a part of California wine- making history. Mt. George, the once-active volcano that coated this region with its characteristic layer of volcanic soils, looms to the north, and in the upper blocks of Haynes, original vines, planted in 1966 by Pat and Duncan Haynes, continue to produce balanced, fully-ripened Chardonnay, full of rich fruit flavors, an enthralling mineral component, and with extraordinary natural acidity. Fernando Delgado has lived on and managed the care for this vineyard since 1970. The vines are from an old Wente selection, yielding small berries and clusters and believed to have been first brought to California by Paul Masson from Louis Latour’s Corton Charlemagne vineyard. The Haynes Vineyard, in a part of Napa little known to the world at large but oft-lauded by locals, attracted none other than the great Andre Tchelistcheff, who believed strongly in this vineyard’s potential to make great wines and was an early winemaker on the property. Today, Delgado continues to custom prune each of these knobby, old, head-trained vines, expertly choosing the healthiest and strongest canes to support yet another vintage of profound Chardonnay.
About the Vintage...
The weather in 2007 remained cool and steady throughout August and September, allowing the grapes to achieve optimal ripeness levels without sacrificing acidity, resulting in wines that come close to that difficult to realize platonic point of balance between power and grace, depth and vivacity. This Chardonnay, as usual, came in after much of our Pinot Noir, with intense flavors and a high, balanced acidity.    The vintage shows great power in its youth, but the structure of the wine promises a long, brilliant life in the cellar, with an intense and lingering minerality already showing through.
About the Wine...
We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French cooperage, mostly new. We fermented with native yeast, and allowed the wines an extensive aging period, sur lees, bottling after a total of 18 months in barrel. The bright and balanced acidity of the Haynes Chardonnay encouraged a complete malolactic fermentation, allowing us to bottle the wine unfiltered. 79 cases produced.
Tasting Notes...
The initial nose of tropical fruits, citrus zest, apple and ripened Asian pears, is touched with straw, honey, and a softened whiff of oak and cedar. The nose opens further to a rich melange of spicy melon, figs, dates, and meringue. The palate is immediately bright and fresh, and the mouth-feel is significant and rich, expansive and increasing in intensity. Pineapple and tangerine notes emerge from the full-bodied mid-palate. The finish is a lengthy and powerful amalgamation of ripe fruit, baking and holiday spices and mouth-filling minerality with a soft, tannic grip. The nose continues to evolve, revealing nuances throughout the finish.

About the Vineyard...
The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in an area known locally as Coombsville. Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa. Mink sits on a level bench just leeward of a knoll that slows down the prevailing maritime winds, allowing cooler air to settle, and making Mink’s microclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills. But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath the top few feet of alluvial clays and cobblestones (typical throughout the southern reaches of Napa), is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the top soils, storing moisture in rich clays underneath. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season. In a typical year, Mink can be practically dry-farmed.

About the Vintage...
The weather in 2007 remained cool and steady throughout August and September, allowing the grapes to achieve optimal ripeness levels without sacrificing acidity, resulting in wines that come close to that difficult to realize platonic point of balance between power and grace, depth and vivacity.  We expect that our decision to pick while acidity remained high, as well as our detailed attention to maximum fruit extraction, will allow these wines to preserve bright uplift and focused fruit on the mid-palate, even as they continue to age, deepening and adding exciting layers, such as spice, mushroom, cacao, and forest floor.

About the Wine...
The grapes were destemmed into small, one-ton, open-top fermenters, where we employed a submerged cap device during the first half of fermentation. This helps to extract the rich flavors and deep color that we expect from this vineyard. We finished the fermentation with traditional hand punch downs, and aged the wine in Billon cooperage, a barrel that tends to sit subtly underneath the delicate fruit, lifting aromas without crowding them.  The wines were racked once, gently, prior to bottling.   Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.  266 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
This vintage produced a brooding wine.  Look for depth and complexity, with slow, subtle development over the course of a meal or a tasting.  The nose opens to rich arrangement of dried blueberries, fresh raspberries, pomegranate, and ripe red apples, with a whiff of mint interwoven into the fruits.  Dark chocolate, coffee, black tea, and tobacco notes provide a counterpoint to the fruit, reminding one of the deep structure of this wine.  The palate moves towards darker fruits, plums, blueberry, and blackberry, showing a surprising brightness and lift in balance with the rich flavors and intense structure of the tannin.  The wine finishes with Mink Vineyard’s signature chalky minerality, a mouth-coating and rich flavor.  This well-structured wine should continue to age and develop new layers for the next 7-10 years.

About the Vineyard...
The vast majority of this vintage comes from Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean. The soils here are loose, sandy, and well-drained, typical for the Russian River Valley, and known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors.  The vineyard is entirely planted with Dijon 115 clones, which add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils. We balance the Perez fruit, opulent, and hedonistic, with fruit from the Archer Vineyard, which emphasizes spice and pepper notes and tends to lift and lengthen the palate, adding layers and mystery to this heady wine.

About the Vintage...
The weather in 2007 remained cool and steady throughout August and September, allowing the grapes to achieve optimal ripeness levels without sacrificing acidity, resulting in wines that come close to that difficult to realize platonic point of balance between power and grace, depth and vivacity.  We expect that our decision to pick while acidity remained high, as well as our detailed attention to maximum fruit extraction, will allow these wines to preserve bright uplift and focused fruit on the mid-palate, even as they continue to age, deepening and adding exciting layers, such as spice, mushroom, cacao, and forest floor.

About the Wine...
We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 25% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes to the back palate and balancing the otherwise plush fruit of Gilbert’s Vineyard.  In addition, we added a small amount of Dijon clones 115 and 777 from the Archer Vineyard.  A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated Burgundian yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented and completed with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling.  Grapes, must, and wines were moved using gravity through to the barrel and using inert gas through racking and bottling.  545 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
The nose and palate of this wine present a consistent mirror to one another, with subtle changes that work forward from the long, finishing nose and and lingering after-taste.  The fresh, unctuous fruitiness shows wild cherry, ripe raspberry, strawberry, and blackberry, lifted with a delicate whiff of candied violets and rose petals.  Deeper notes of smoke, toast, pepper, coffee, cacao, and tobacco and a gripping tannic finish add layers of sophistication to the hedonism of the fruit.  This wine brings to mind the classic Pinot Noir descriptive, “An iron fist in a velvet glove.”  With time, the lushness of the fruit will settle, brining out a more silken texture and emphasizing a long, elegant finish.  We expect this wine to develop gracefully for 4-6 years, but this one may surprise us by going even longer.

About the Vineyard...
The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Sta Rita Hills AVA which straddle the Santa Inez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean.  As a East-West oriented valley, opening its mouth to the cool Pacific breezes, the consistent and cooling marine influence is significant.  The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted an array of clones and rootstocks on several various soils to create a staggering level of diversity from this single vineyard.  The remarkably consistent weather, characterized by lower highs and higher lows than valley floor vineyard throughout the North Coast, conspires with marine sedimentary soils and alluvials to make wines of power and exceptional structure.  This vintage marks our fifth, working with Kathy and this remarkable vineyard.

About the Vintage...
The weather in 2007 remained cool and steady throughout August and September, allowing the grapes to achieve optimal ripeness levels without sacrificing acidity, resulting in wines that come close to that difficult to realize platonic point of balance between power and grace, depth and vivacity.  We expect that our decision to pick while acidity remained high, as well as our detailed attention to maximum fruit extraction, will allow these wines to preserve bright uplift and focused fruit on the mid-palate, even as they continue to age, deepening and adding exciting layers, such as spice, mushroom, cacao, and forest floor.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days. We utilized a combination of hand punch-downs and a submerged cap device to achieve optimal extraction from the skins.  We fermented with a combination of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts, with a peak temperature of 94°F.  The wine was aged in an array of Francois Freres and Remond cooperage, entirely of Bertrange Oak and a majority new.  167 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Typical of this vineyard, the wine opens with a vibrant, spiced nose of cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, and clove, underlaid with earthy tones.  Intense, fresh red fruits lead the palate, settling on the mid-palate with focused, ripe flavors of strawberry, cassis, and currants.  Good acidity provides brightness and balance, while structure, always a strong suit for this wine, is emphasized by mouth-filling tannins.  The spicy aromatics continue through the long finish.  This vintage produced a softer, more mineral tannin than previous years, yielding a wine that is voluptuous in its youth, yet promises to age with grace for the coming decade.

About the Vineyard...
The Red Dog Vineyard sits atop Sonoma Mountain on the cool, western side. It was planted in 2000 by Tom and Debbie Engel. It is planted mostly to Swan Selection with cuttings from the Mink Vineyard, with a smaller block of Dijon clones 777 and 115.  The vineyard is situated on the eastern face of a ridge, and the top is just under 1000 feet elevation.  At this height, the vineyard is almost continually cooled by Pacific currents moving inland through the Petaluma Gap  The soils are some of the most ancient soils in Sonoma County and have been leached of nutrients by wind and rain for aeons.  It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes.

About the Vintage...
The weather in 2007 remained cool and steady throughout August and September, allowing the grapes to achieve optimal ripeness levels without sacrificing acidity, resulting in wines that come close to that difficult to realize platonic point of balance between power and grace, depth and vivacity.  We expect that our decision to pick while acidity remained high, as well as our detailed attention to maximum fruit extraction, will allow these wines to preserve bright uplift and focused fruit on the mid-palate, even as they continue to age, deepening and adding exciting layers, such as spice, mushroom, cacao, and forest floor.

About the Wine...
The grapes were destemmed into our one ton, open top fermenters and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 94°, with an additional 14 days of maceration and skin contact.  The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, and a majority of those barrels were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling.  267 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
A pretty, effusive floral nose of rose petals and lilac, infused with sage, cedar, tobacco, and cinnamon.  The palate leads with ripe soft strawberries and sweet huckleberry, growing into a full-bodied and tannic mid-palate coated in rich, dark tones of plum, blackberry, boysenberry, cacao, and tobacco.  Finished with a lingering earthiness under traces of the leading red fruits.  This is  decadent vintage for this vineyard, showing off the yin/yang nature of this wine in its fullest.  We expect to enjoy this wine well into the next decade, as it continues to unveil new flavors of depth and additional aromatic nuance.

About the Vineyard...
The Toyon Farm is located on the eastern, Napa, side of Carneros, on a fan-shaped, south-west facing slope. Underneath the typical Carneros clay and alluvial soils are layers of shale, which add spicy notes to the darker, more brooding flavors and aromas. We planted this vineyard the first block of this vineyard in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in the Russian River Valley--and these, in turn, were brought from Burgundy by Joseph Swan in the 1950's and '60's. Our selection of Swan clones tends to produce smaller berries and deep structures. So, in 1999, we added a block of Dijon 115, which with its characteristic perfume and lighter fruit notes, provides a winning complement to the Swan.

About the Vintage...
The 2006 vintage was one of the longest, coolest, seasons we can recall, with small, compact berries and low harvest yields. Harvest started in the end of September and stretched into early October giving us a compact and hectic vintage. Our Carneros Pinot Noir was harvested on September 23rd. A vintage to be appreciated for elegance, balance, and complexity.

About the Wine...
We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters, and we co-fermented some of the Swam and Dijon 115 lots, adding new layers of complexity and harmony between the different fruits. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.5 %, pH 3.74, TA 6.0 g/l. , RS 0.01 g/l. 1000 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
The nose abounds with fresh cherry, plum, raspberry, and lilac, with a whiff of clove and dried herbs. The palate opens to lush, ripe strawberry with some tannic weightiness. A nice acidic uplift is followed by layers of dense, brooding, and darker flavors: black cherry, cocoa, and blackberry. It finishes with earthiness, toasted woods, and a lingering dried and fresh fruits from stretching from the beginning. Ages beautifully, 5-10 years.

About the Vineyard...
Our 2006 Chardonnay owes it style, depth, and structure to intensely flavored, low yielding, heirloom clones growing in two Carneros vineyards: on the Napa side, the Toyon Farm and on the Sonoma side, the Sangiocomo family’s Vella Ranch. We hand-selected the cuttings ourselves, from older vineyards in the Carneros area. These cuttings are reputed to have origins tracing to Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940’s, from none other than Louis Latour's renowned Corton Charlemagne vineyard. These selections are often referred to as “Old Wente” or “Robert Young,” denoting the sourced mother blocks in the 1960s.

About the Vintage...
The 2006 vintage was a cool one, marked especially by cooler nights that slowed down the ripening process and allowed the grapes to develop and maintain significant levels of acidity. This continued at a measured pace, with no heat spikes, on through the harvest, which was definitely on the late side for Chardonnay, starting near the end of September and finishing on October 2nd.

About the Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and expressive style that develops gracefully in the bottle and shows enticing minerality, vivacious fruit, length and structure. For us, the watchword is balance. We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French oak from three different coopers, chosen for their unique synergism and support of the fruit on the palate. Nearly half of the barrels were new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native strains, and fermentation proceeded evenly and slowly, averaging a cool 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through May. Wine analysis: Alc. 14 %, pH 3.40, ta 6.1 g/l. 602 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Opulent and layered fruit: tangerine, melon, nectarine, white peach, figs, and lemon cream aromas are layered above brioche, holiday spices and crème brulleé. Exceptional richness fills out the palate with minerality and lush fruit textures, uplifted by citrus notes and acidity. The finish lingers, balancing between richness, minerals, and acidity.

About the Vineyard...
Our Pinot Gris is grown by the Sangiacomo family at their El Novillero site. We had experimented with a few barrels between 1999 and 2001. Based on that success, we decided to embark on a larger scale project endeavoring to make a Pinot Gris modeled upon the richer flavored, fuller bodied Alsatian style. The clay soils and eastern facing orientation at Novillero are ideal for the rich and structured style we were aiming for. Mike Sangiacomo planted the vineyard to our specs in 2002. We started with two clones imported from Alsace: #152 and #146. The first yields more flowery and aromatic notes while the second, denser and more structured with flint and spice notes. Our two acre block is currently the only Pinot Gris the Sangiacomo family grow.

About the Vintage...
The 2006 vintage provided us with beautiful Spring conditions and the fruit set well. Late rains in May made for plump berries and botrytis pressure which did not not present a challenge to the decades of experience the Sangiacomos' bring to grape growing. The fruit was thinned and leaves were pulled to ensure clean fruit that developed lush fruit flavors.

About the Wine...
The grapes were hand harvested at night resulting in grapes in the low 50°s' as they went into the press as whole clusters. We pressed to maximize extraction of the spice and structure of Pinot Gris. A cultured yeast, Cotes de Blanc, was added for its ability to emphasize floral fruit notes. The primary fermentation was carried out entirely in neutral barrels at a cool 50 °F to capture and retain rich fruit flavors. The lees were stirred upon completion of fermentation to enhance texture and encourage development. The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.36, TA 6.8 g/l. , RS 0.2 g/l. 580 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Lemon, tangerine, honeysuckle, melon, green apple, and grapefruit provide the exotic backdrop to our Pinot Gris. Lemon zest, spice, almond paste, and subtle tropical notes echo in the flavors on the palate accompanied by creamy texture that is a little tight upon release. Nice acidity, mineral, spice, and key lime flavors drive the wine through to the finish. The wine will develop nicely in the months and years ahead.

About the Vineyard...
The Toyon Farm is located on the eastern, Napa, side of Carneros, on a fan-shaped, south-west facing slope. Underneath the typical Carneros clay and alluvial soils are layers of shale, which add spicy notes to the darker, more brooding flavors and aromas. We planted this vineyard the first block of this vineyard in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in the Russian River Valley--and these, in turn, were brought from Burgundy by Joseph Swan in the 1950’s and ’60’s. Our selection of Swan clones tends to produce smaller berries and deep structures. So, in 1999, we added a block of Dijon 115, which with its characteristic perfume and lighter fruit notes, provides a winning complement to the Swan.

About the Vintage...
The 2006 vintage was one of the longest, coolest, seasons we can recall, with small, compact berries and low harvest yields. Harvest started in the end of September and stretched into early October giving us a compact and hectic vintage. Our Carneros Pinot Noir was harvested on September 23rd. A vintage to be appreciated for elegance, balance, and complexity.

About the Wine...
We separated the entire lot into 1 ton, open-top fermenters, employing traditional punch-downs by hand in order to achieve optimal extraction. About 5% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters, and we co-fermented some of the Swam and Dijon 115 lots, adding new layers of complexity and harmony between the different fruits. The wine was aged in an array of French cooperage, nearly half new, and gently racked once prior to bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.5 %, pH 3.74, TA 6.0 g/l. , RS 0.01 g/l. 1000 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
The nose abounds with fresh cherry, plum, raspberry, and lilac, with a whiff of clove and dried herbs. The palate opens to lush, ripe strawberry with some tannic weightiness. A nice acidic uplift is followed by layers of dense, brooding, and darker flavors: black cherry, cocoa, and blackberry. It finishes with earthiness, toasted woods, and a lingering dried and fresh fruits from stretching from the beginning. Ages beautifully, 5-10 years.

About the Vineyard...
The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in an area known locally as Coombsville. Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa. Mink sits on a level bench just leeward of a knoll that slows down the prevailing maritime winds, allowing cooler air to settle, and making Mink’s microclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills. But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath the top few feet of alluvial clays and cobblestones (typical throughout the southern reaches of Napa), is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the top soils, storing moisture in rich clays underneath. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season. In a typical year, Mink can be practically dry-farmed.

About the Wine...
The grapes were destemmed into small, one-ton, open-top fermenters, where we employed a submerged cap device during the first half of fermentation. This helps to extract the rich flavors and deep color that we expect from this vineyard. We finished the fermentation with traditional hand punch downs, and aged the wine in< Billon and Cadus cooperage, racking gently only once. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.69, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 148 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Explosive blueberry, plum and blackberry fruit dominate the nose with youthful aromas. On the palate the wine reverberates these dark fruits while unfolding further into layers of candied fruits, dark chocolate, cola, tobacco, and lingering minerality. Deeply concentrated with a firm underlying structure, a bright uplift, and great length, the lushly textured palate brims with mouth watering black fruits followed by clove, cinnamon, spice in the finish. This wine will continue to unfold for 5 - 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
The Mink Vineyard is located next door to the winery, in an area known locally as Coombsville. Open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west, Coombsville is consistently one of the coolest pockets in Napa. Mink sits on a level bench just leeward of a knoll that slows down the prevailing maritime winds, allowing cooler air to settle, and making Mink’s microclimate a couple degrees cooler, even, than the surrounding hills. But the real secret to Mink’s explosive flavors, smooth, mouth-coating minerality, comes from the soil. Underneath the top few feet of alluvial clays and cobblestones (typical throughout the southern reaches of Napa), is a layer of compressed volcanic ash, called tufa. The tufa drains the top soils, storing moisture in rich clays underneath. The vines are able, with some work, to grow roots into the tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season. In a typical year, Mink can be practically dry-farmed.

About the Wine...
The grapes were destemmed into small, one-ton, open-top fermenters, where we employed a submerged cap device during the first half of fermentation. This helps to extract the rich flavors and deep color that we expect from this vineyard. We finished the fermentation with traditional hand punch downs, and aged the wine in Billon and Cadus cooperage, racking gently only once. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.69, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 148 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Explosive blueberry, plum and blackberry fruit dominate the nose with youthful aromas. On the palate the wine reverberates these dark fruits while unfolding further into layers of candied fruits, dark chocolate, cola, tobacco, and lingering minerality. Deeply concentrated with a firm underlying structure, a bright uplift, and great length, the lushly textured palate brims with mouth watering black fruits followed by clove, cinnamon, spice in the finish. This wine will continue to unfold for 5 - 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
The vast majority of this vintage comes from Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean. The soils here are loose, sandy, and well-drained, typical for the Russian River Valley, and known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors.The vineyard is entirely planted with Dijon 115 clones, which add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils. We balance the Perez fruit, opulent, and hedonistic, with fruit from the Archer Vineyard, which tends to lift and lengthen the palate, adding layers and mystery to this heady wine.

About the Vintage...
The 2006 vintage was one of the longest, coolest, seasons we recall. Harvest started in the last few days of September and stretched into early October giving us a compact and hectic vintage. Our Russian River fruit came in on September 29, with beautiful acidity and bright aromatics.
About the Wine... We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 10% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes. A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented and completed with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Alc. 14.4 %, pH 3.70, ta 6.0 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 480 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Juicy cherry, lush raspberry, and strawberry fruit followed by layers of red licorice, cola, pepper and baking spices. Velvety texture with lush sweet cherry, strawberry fruit, and spice echoing on the palate in a long, lingering finish with bright acidity. The wine is flashy and hedonistic, in the Russian River tradition! Drinks well
at release or will age 4 – 7 years

About the Vineyard...
The vast majority of this vintage comes from Gilbert Perez’s two acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the appellation, only nominally protected by the coastal hills and open to the maritime influence of the Pacific Ocean. The soils here are loose, sandy, and well-drained, typical for the Russian River Valley, and known for producing explosive and aromatic fruit flavors.The vineyard is entirely planted with Dijon 115 clones, which add perfumed aromas and light spice notes to the lush fruitiness obtained from the soils. We balance the Perez fruit, opulent, and hedonistic, with fruit from the Archer Vineyard, which tends to lift and lengthen the palate, adding layers and mystery to this heady wine.

About the Vintage...
The 2006 vintage was one of the longest, coolest, seasons we recall. Harvest started in the last few days of September and stretched into early October giving us a compact and hectic vintage. Our Russian River fruit came in on September 29, with beautiful acidity and bright aromatics.

About the Wine...
We fermented in our one ton, open-top tanks, layering the bottom 10% of each tank with whole clusters of fruit, adding structure and spice notes. A warm fermentation with a combination of native and isolated yeasts produced excellent and focused flavor extraction, complemented and completed with traditional punch-downs by hand. The wine was aged entirely in Francois Freres cooperage, half new, and racked once, gently, prior to bottling. Alc. 14.4 %, pH 3.70, ta 6.0 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 480 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Juicy cherry, lush raspberry, and strawberry fruit followed by layers of red licorice, cola, pepper and baking spices. Velvety texture with lush sweet cherry, strawberry fruit, and spice echoing on the palate in a long, lingering finish with bright acidity. The wine is flashy and hedonistic, in the Russian River tradition! Drinks well at release or will age 4 – 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Santa Rita Hills AVA which straddle the Santa Inez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean. As a East-West oriented valley, the marine influence is great, opening its mouth at the city of Lompoc to the cool Pacific breezes. The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted a range of clones, orientations, and rootstocks to create a large amount of diversity in this single vineyard. The remarkably consistent weather which is characterized by lower highs and higher lows than up north, conspires with marine sedimentary soils and alluvials to make wines of power and exceptional structure. We have purchased fruit from her, beginning in 2003, with mix of Dijon clones 115 and 667.

About the Vintage...
The 2006 vintage is generous in structure and will take time to unfold. A near perfect mix of warmth, crop balance, and ultimate ripeness worked in concert to produce another exceptional Santa Rita Hills designate.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days. The wine was fermented entirely with a submerged cap device, keeping the skins under the surface of the wine for a gentle but continual extraction of the grapes. Fermentation was done by a mix of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts with fermentation spiking to a very warm 93°F. The grapes were pressed just after dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French oak barrels from the Bertrange forest – both Francois Freres and Remond cooperages. Wine analysis: Alc. 14 %, pH 3.58, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 172 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep color hints of the wine's intense blend of black and red fruits, pepper, red licorice, blackberry preserves, black tea, and with nuances of Indian spices, violets, cardoman, and a slight gaminess. The wine dense and firmly structured with round tannins. An intense wine on the muscular side of Pinot, we recommend you lay this wine down for 6 months to 6 years and watch the layers unfold.

About the Vineyard...
The Red Dog Vineyard sits atop Sonoma Mountain on the cool, western side. It was planted in 2000 by Tom and Debbie Engel. It is planted mostly to Swan Selection with the cuttings coming from the Mink Vineyard. We also have smaller amounts of Dijon 777 and 115. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loam with low fertility due to being leached of nutrients over the eons. The soils atop Sonoma Mountain are some of the most ancient soils in Sonoma County. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes .

About the Vintage...
The 2006 vintage marks our 4th vintage from the Red Dog Vineyard. As the vines continue to develop, more underlying depth emerges. This is certainly quite obvious with the 2006 as more layers and nuance emerge over time. As has been the case, the shy bearing vines atop Sonoma Mountain yield an exceptionally unique blend of power and elegance.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 94°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 14 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 60% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.4 %, pH 3.62, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 209 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Elegant floral notes of violets, cranberry, dried roses, fresh herbs, truffle, and black tea. Orange peel, cherry raspberry predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture and finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral notes of the nose finishing with underlying tannins to age well. The wine is showing beautifully now, but experience indicates it will continue to develop deeper and more complex layers over the next 6 - 10 years.

About the Vineyard...
This is our second vintage of Pinot Gris from the Sangiacomo family’s El Novillero Block. We had experimented with a few barrels between 1999 and 2001. Based on that success, we decided to embark on a larger scale project endeavoring to make a Pinot Gris modeled upon the richer flavored, fuller bodied Alsatian style. The clay soils and eastern facing orientation at Novillero are ideal for the rich and structured style we were aiming for. Mike Sangiacomo planted the vineyard to our specs in 2002. We started with two clones imported from Alsace: #152 and #146. The first yields more flowery and aromatic notes while the second, denser and more structured with flint and spice notes. Our two acre block is currently the only Pinot Gris the Sangiacomo family grow.

About the Vintage...
The 2005 vintage is the most consistent, in terms of weather, in memory. The season was cool without heat spikes or consistent cold spells. Ripening was very slow allowing excellent physiological development – or in simpler terms, the fruit tasted GREAT! As in 2004, we saw high acidities but inhibited malolactic fermentation to achieve the lush style with the freshness and focus nice acidity brings.

About the Wine...
The grapes were well extracted by pressing as whole clusters then racked into used French oak for fermentation. A cultured yeast, Cotes de Blanc, was added for its ability to emphasize floral fruit notes. The primary fermentation was carried out entirely in barrel at a cool 50 °F to capture and retain rich fruit flavors. The lees were stirred upon completion of fermentation to enhance texture and encourage development. The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.30, TA 6.2 g/l. , RS 0.2 g/l. 375 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Familiar aromas of tangerine, honeydew, melon, green apple, and grapefruit provide the exotic but familiar backdrop to our Pinot Gris. Lemon zest, spice, almond paste, and subtle tropical notes echo in the flavors on the palate accompanied by creamy texture that is a little tight upon release. Crisp acidity and key lime flavors drive the wine through to the finish. The wine will continue to flesh out in the months and years ahead with additional layers and complexities to follow.

About the Vineyard...
Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the eastern side of Napa - Carneros. This vineyard was planted for us in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in Sonoma County and Dijon 115 from Burgundy. The Swan cuttings are a mass selection, rather than a single clone, originating from buds hand carried by Joseph Swan from Burgundy in the 1950s and 1960s. It exhibits layers of complexity and a deeper structure with darker flavors than the Dijon clones or Martini selection. The following year we planted Dijon 115 in a block adjacent to the Swan block. It represents approximately 30% of the blend. It brings its characteristic perfume and higher note fruit to complement the dark fruit and structure of the Swan Selection.

About the Vintage...
The 2005 vintage was notable for its amazing consistency. The stretch run of harvest provided day after day of perfect ripening conditions - in the upper 70s for highs and down into the low 50s for lows. Flavors developed gradually finally punctuated by the arrival of the Harvest Moon. In 2005, the majority of our fruit came in during this period of the lunar cycle as we noticed a distinct amplification in the intensity of fruit flavors and ripeness.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into 1 ton open top fermenters and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A mixed innoculum of RC212 (burgundy isolate) and Assmannshausen yeast carried out the fermentation. We employed a very warm fermentation, peaking at 94 -95°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Cadus, Remond and Billon - 45% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.5 %, pH 3.66, TA 6.1 g/l. , RS 0.01 g/l. 1175 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Racy cherry, cola, raspberry and strawberry fruit flavors are layered upon denser brooding flavors with spice, smoke, slight meatiness, and darker blackberry and black cherry flavors. Dark chocolate, sandalwood, violets and a slight earthiness add layers to the rich fruit. Nuances of smoke, toasted wood and baking spices linger in the finish. The wine will continue to develop in the months and years ahead. Drink now or age 5 - 9 years.

About the Vineyard...
The Mink Vineyard is located in the Tulocay area due east of the city of Napa (also known as Coombsville). This is a cool area that enjoys a backdraft of air conditioning from the San Pablo Bay. The soils are very special and distinct from other cool climate Pinot Noir sites in California (or Oregon for that matter). The top three feet is a rocky alluvial soil, reddish beige in color with loads of cobblestones. Below the alluvial is a layer of white volcanic ash approximately two feet deep. The third layer is black clay. The roots work their way through the cobblestones down to the surface of the ash. The ash provides excellent drainage as it is physically similar to limestone in porosity. The clay provides a reservoir of moisture that is slowly wicked back to the vine through the ash - but the vine has to work hard for it. The vines can be practically dry farmed, depending on the year, and develop a very nice steady state system that is hard to achieve with drip irrigation. The vineyard is split equally between Swan Selection and Dijon 115 clone of Pinot Noir.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We employed a submerged cap device through the mid-point of primary fermentation followed by twice a day punchdowns through the completion of fermentation. We innoculated with a Burgundian yeast isolate and fermented warm, peaking about 94°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Billon cooperage. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.5%, pH 3.59, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 240 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Blueberry ,plum and blackberry fruit layered upon dark chocolate, wet stone, and lingering minerality in the plate. Its bright fruit opens up to show nice concentration and weight on the palate with a firm underlying structure and great length. The palate brims with mouth watering black fruits followed by clove, cinnamon, spice in the finish. This wine will continue to unfold for 6 - 10 years.

About the Vineyard...
Our 2005 vintage represents an evolution in the sourcing of our Russian River Pinot Noir. It comes entirely from Gilbert Perez’s 2 acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the AVA. His vineyard lies closer to the chilly Pacific breezes as it is less protected by coastal hills. Gilbert’s vineyard is planted entirely to Dijon 115 on characteristic sandy Russian River soils. Formerly having produced the flavorful Gravenstein apples Sebastopol is known for, these soils transition nicely to produce explosively fruity Pinot Noirs with bright cherry flavors and spice.

About the Vintage...
The 2005 vintage was notable for its amazing consistency. The stretch run of harvest provided day after day of perfect ripening conditions - in the upper 70s for highs and down into the low 50s for lows. Flavors developed gradually finally punctuated by the arrival of the Harvest Moon. In 2005, the majority of our fruit came in during this period of the lunar cycle as we noticed a distinct amplification in the intensity of fruit flavors and ripeness.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 95% destemmed into an open top fermenter, 5% whole clusters where added at the bottom of the fermenter for added spice and structure. The 1 ton fermenters were cold soaked for 5 days. Our four separate fermentations were innoculated with RC 212 yeast or fermented with native yeast. Temperature spiked to 94°F ensuring excellent flavor extraction. We punched down by hand 4 times per day and pressed the grapes at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Francois Freres cooperage, 50% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Alc. 14 %, pH 3.62, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 336 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Juicy cherry, raspberry, and strawberry fruit followed by layers of red licorice, toast, pepper and baking spices. Velvety texture with lush sweet cherry, strawberry fruit, and spice echoing on the palate in a long, lingering finish with bright acidity. The wine is flashy and hedonistic, in the Russian River tradition! Drinks well at release or will age 4 – 6 years.

About the Vineyard...
Fiddlestix Vineyard, situated along the south bank of the Santa Inez River, enjoys a remarkably consistent climate, moderated by the Pacific breezes and maritime fog layers that work their way up this valley. Compared to the more Northern pinot noir regions, the Santa Rita Hills typically see lower highs in the daytime and higher lows in the nighttime. This even-handed climate combines with a rich diversity of clay and loamy soils to produce wines of brooding depth, power, and exceptional structure.

About the Vintage...
2005 was a year of balance, with the vines ripening slowly and steadily, with no major heat spikes in the later stages of development just before harvest. Compared to 2004, it was a much cooler year as well, yielding wines of power well supported by the underlying structures.

About the Wine...
The grapes were destemmed and added to one ton, open-top fermenters, where we co-fermented our two clonal selections (115 and 667), using a submerged cap device for optimal extraction. The wines were aged in French barrels from Francois Freres and Remond. Wine analysis: Alc. 14 %, pH 3.58, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 140 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep color hints of the wine’s intense blend of black and red fruits, cranberry, red licorice, blackberry preserves, black tea, and surprising notes of pepper, cassis and slight gaminess. The wine is supple in the palate with firm structure at the end. An intense wine on the muscular side of pinot noir. Drinkable at release or age 7 – 9 years and watch additional layers unfold.

About the Vineyard...
The Red Dog Vineyard sits atop Sonoma Mountain on the cool, western side. It was planted in 2000 by Tom and Debbie Engel. It is planted mostly to Swan Selection with the cuttings coming from the Mink Vineyard. We also have smaller amounts of Dijon 777 and 115. The 2005 bottling comes entirely from the Swan Selection. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loam with low fertility due to being leached of nutrients over the eons. The soils atop Sonoma Mountain are some of the most ancient soils in Sonoma County. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes .

About the Vintage...
The 2005 vintage was nothing less than exceptional throughout California. The season was long and very cool down the stretch without any heat spikes that are so typical in September. Patience was a virtue as ripening took its own sweet time. The Red Dog Vineyard was night picked under a full moon at perfect ripeness in late September. The wine possesses great concentration and high flying aromatics framed by firm tannins.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 95°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 14 days. It was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 60% were new. Gentle wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.4 %, pH 3.62, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 220 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Juicy raspberry, cherry, and anise are accented by floral aromas of orange zest, dried roses, violets,, truffle, and black tea. Raspberry, cherry and anise predominate on the palate framed by firm tannins and balanced by nice acidity. The finish is reverberates the perfumed aromatics of the nose. The wine is well structured at release and will benefit from time in the glass to slowly reveal all its complexities.. Drink or Hold up to 10 – 15 years.

About the Vineyard...
Our 2004 Chardonnay is the culmination of plant selection we have been working on since 1997. It is made up of two vineyards planted specifically for us from vine cuttings we had selected. The vineyards, the Toyon Farm on the Napa side of Carneros, and the Vella Ranch on the Sonoma side. The vineyards were planted to “Old Wente” and “Robert Young” selections. (These low-cropping "old Wente" Chardonnay cuttings are reputed to have been purchased by the Wente nursery from Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940s - from Louis Latour's Corton Charlemagne vineyard.)

About the Vintage...
The 2004 vintage was an early vintage with a modest crop of exceptionally intense fruit. The fruit ripened earlier than usual, in part due to the low crop levels. The acidities were higher than normal which provided excellent balance after a complete malolactic fermentation.

About the Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and food friendly style that develops gracefully in the bottle. For us, the key word is balance. Additionally, we aim to highlight the unique characteristics of the vineyards and clonal selections we work with - producing a Carneros Chardonnay with enticing minerality, structure and vivaciousness. We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French Oak, of which 45% was new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native yeast, and three Burgundian coopers chosen for their synergism and support of the fruit. Fermentation proceeded slowly at cool temperature, averaging 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through May. The wine was racked cleanly at bottling using inert Argon gas instead of pumping. With the nice natural acidity, we were able to complete malolactic fermentation allowing the wine to be bottled unfiltered. Wine analysis: Alc. 14 %, pH 3.39, ta 6.1 g/l. 700 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Opulent and layered fruit: green apple, pear, figs, lime, tangerine zest, freesia, ripe apple, and lemon cream aromas layered above creamy yeast notes, cocoa and crème brulleé. Exceptional richness with mineral notes framing the lushly textured palate. The finish is long and focused with nicely balanced acidity. The wine will continue to develop beautifully in bottle over the next 3 - 4 years gradually showing more minerality and even more concentration in the the finish.

About the Vineyard...
2004 marks the return of Ancien Pinot Gris. We had experimented with a few barrels between 1999 and 2001. Based on that success, we decided to embark on a larger scale project endeavoring to make a Pinot Gris modeled upon the richer flavored, fuller bodied Alsatian style. Our next step was to find the site. We hoped to find well drained clay soils in a cool area. A telephone call to Mike Sangiacomo yielded the perfect spot - the far southwestern edge at the family's El Novillero Vineyard. The soils and eastern facing orientation seemed perfect. We started with two clones recently imported from Alsace: #152 and #146. The first yields more flowery and aromatic notes while the second, denser and more structured with flint and spice notes. Our two acre block is currently that only Pinot Gris the Sangiacomo family grow.

About the Vintage...
While we are still learning what will constitute a great Carneros Pinot Gris vintage, we are happy with the results from 2004. We had hoped to harvest a small amount of fruit in 2003 but at the 11th hour the crop was lost to the birds. With all the surrounding vineyards untouched, we were disappointed at our lost but hopeful the birds' preference was indicative of great things to come. With a little help from the bird netting, in 2004 we managed to see a moderate crop the ripened evenly under warm conditions in early September.

About the Wine...
The grapes were well extracted by pressing as whole clusters then racked into used French oak for fermentation. A cultured yeast, Cotes de Blanc, was added for its ability to emphasize floral fruit notes. The primary fermentation was carried out entirely in barrel at a cool 50 °F to capture and retain rich fruit flavors. The lees were stirred upon completion of fermentation to enhance texture and encourage development. The wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation as to keep its freshness and focus which comes with the lively acidity. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.36, TA 6.1 g/l. , RS 0.2 g/l. 240 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Aromas of tangerine, honeydew, melon,green apple, and grapefruit zest echo in the flavors on the palate accompanied by rich and creamy texture, refreshing acidity and exotic key lime flavors in the finish. Firmly structured, the wine will continue to flesh out in the months and years ahead with additional layers and complexities to follow.

About the Vineyard...
Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the eastern side of Napa - Carneros. This vineyard was planted for us in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in Sonoma County and Dijon 115 from Burgundy. The Swan cuttings are a mass selection, rather than a single clone, originating from buds hand carried by Joseph Swan from Burgundy in the 1950s and 1960s. It exhibits layers of complexity and a deeper structure and darker flavors than the Dijon clones or Martini selection. The following year we planted Dijon 115 in a block adjacent to the Swan block. It represents approximately 30% of the blend. It brings its characteristic perfume and higher note fruit to complement the dark fruit and structure of the Swan Selection.

About the Vintage...
The 2004 vintage was an early vintage with a modest crop of exceptionally intense fruit. The fruit ripened earlier than usual due, in part, to the low yields. Weather cooperated nicely to provide even ripening of the fruit and very concentrated flavors due to the low yields while maintaining excellent acidity levels. The wines are more layered, brighter, and more vibrant when compared to the 2003 vintage. We expect the wines to age well considering the excellent balance.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into 1 ton open top fermenters and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of RC212 (burgundy isolate) cultured yeasts carried out the fermentation. We employed a very warm fermentation, peaking at 94 -95°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Cadus, Remond and Billon - 45% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.5 %, pH 3.66, TA 6.1 g/l. , RS 0.01 g/l. 975 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Dense, brooding flavors with spice, smoke, sl. Meatiness, and dark layered fruit ranging from blackberry, black cherry, to brighter strawberry, raspberry and violet notes. Dark chocolate, sandalwood and a slight earthiness add layers to the rich fruit. Nuances of smoke, toasted wood and baking spices linger in the finish. The wine will continue to develop in the months and years ahead. Drink now or age 5 - 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
The Mink Vineyard is located in the Tulocay area due east of the city of Napa (also known as Coombsville). This is a cool area that enjoys a backdraft of air conditioning from the San Pablo Bay. The soils are very special and distinct from other cool climate Pinot Noir sites in California (or Oregon for that matter). The top three feet is a rocky alluvial soil, reddish beige in color with loads of cobblestones. Below the alluvial is a layer of white volcanic ash approximately two feet deep. The third layer is black clay. The roots work their way through the cobblestones down to the surface of the ash. The ash provides excellent drainage as it is physically similar to limestone in porousity. The clay provides a reservoir of moisture that is slowly wicked back to the vine through the ash - but the vine has to work hard for it. The vines can be practically dry farmed, depending on the year, and develop a very nice steady state system that is hard to achieve with drip irrigation. The vineyard is split equally between Swan Selection and Dijon 115 clone of Pinot Noir.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We employed a submerged cap device through the mid-point of primary fermentation followed by twice a day punchdowns through the completion of fermentation. We innoculated with a Burgundian yeast isolate and fermented warm, peaking about 94°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Billon and Cadus cooperages. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.69, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 148 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Explosive blueberry,plum and blackberry fruit dominate the youthful aromas. On the palate the wine reverberates the blueberry/plum/blackberry fruit but unfolds further into layers of dark chocolate, wet stone, and lingering minerality. Deeply concentrated with a firm underlying structure and great length. The lushly textured palate brims with mouth watering black fruits followed by clove, cinnamon, spice in the finish. This wine will continue to unfold for 5 - 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
Our 2004 vintage represents an evolution in the sourcing of our Russian River Pinot Noir. It comes entirely from Gilbert Perez’s 2 acre vineyard in the southwestern corner of the AVA. His vineyard lies closer to the chilly Pacific breezes as it is less protected by coastal hills. Gilbert’s vineyard is planted entirely to Dijon 115 on characteristic sandy Russian River soils. Formerly having produced the flavorful Gravenstein apples Sebastopol is known for, these soils transition nicely to produce explosively fruity Pinot Noirs with bright cherry flavors and spice.

About the Vintage...
The 2004 vintage was lean on quantity and BIG on quality. The fruit ripened early and quickly due the small crop producing very fruit forward wines with above average acidity. While the balance of the wine bodes well for medium term aging, the up front fruit makes the wines imminently enjoyable upon release.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 95% destemmed into an open top fermenter, 5% whole clusters where added at the bottom of the fermenter for added spice and structure. The 1 ton fermenters were cold soaked for 5 days. Our four separate fermentations were innoculated with RC 212 yeast or fermented with native yeast. Temperature spiked to 94°F ensuring excellent flavor extraction. We punched down by hand 4 times per day and pressed the grapes at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Francois Freres cooperage, 50% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14 %, pH 3.62, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 290 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Lively and lush up front fruit with sweet cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and pomegranite, followed by layers of red licorice, toast, pepper and baking spices. Velvety texture with lush sweet cherry/strawberry fruit and spice echoing on the palate in a long, lingering finish with bright acidity. Hedonistic in the Russian River tradition! Drinks well at release or will age 4 – 6 years.

About the Vineyard...
The Fiddlestix Vineyard is located in the Santa Rita Hills AVA which straddle the Santa Inez River as it makes its way to the Pacific Ocean. As a East-West oriented valley, the marine influence is great, opening its mouth at the city of Lompoc to the cool Pacific breezes. The vineyard is managed and owned in partnership by Kathy Joseph, who has planted a range of clones, orientations, and rootstocks to create a large amount of diversity in this single vineyard. The remarkably consistent weather which is characterized by lower highs and higher lows than up north, conspires with marine sedimentary soils and alluvials to make wines of power and exceptional structure. We have purchased fruit from her, beginning in 2003, with mix of Dijon clones 115 and 667.

About the Vintage...
The 2004 vintage produced a more normal crop compared to the microharvest of 2003. This was in marked contrast to the northern part of the state which was so light. The result was lighter tannins in from this structured fruit that will be much more approachable at a young age – the 2003 produced powerful but angular wines, in contrast, that will take a few years of patience to allow them to soften.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 5 days. The wine was fermented entirely with a submerged cap device, keeping the skins under the surface of the wine for a gentle but continual extraction of the grapes. Fermentation was done by a mix of RC212 and Assmannshausen yeasts with fermentation spiking to a very warm 95°F. The grapes were pressed just after dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French oak barrels from the Bertrange forest – both Francois Freres and Remond cooperages. Wine analysis: Alc. 14 %, pH 3.58, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 140 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep color hints of the wine’s intense blend of black and red fruits, cranberry, red licorice, blackberry preserves, black tea, and surprising notes of pepper, cassis and slight gaminess. The wine is supple in the palate with firm structure at the end. An intense wine on the muscular side of Pinot. Drinkable at release or age 7 – 9 years and watch additional layers unfold.

About the Vineyard...
The Red Dog Vineyard sits atop Sonoma Mountain on the cool, western side. It was planted in 2000 by Tom and Debbie Engel. It is planted mostly to Swan Selection with the cuttings coming from the Mink Vineyard. We also have smaller amounts of Dijon 777 and 115. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loam with low fertility due to being leached of nutrients over the eons. The soils atop Sonoma Mountain are some of the most ancien t soils in Sonoma County. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes .

About the Vintage...
The 2004 vintage was an early vintage with a modest crop of exceptionally intense fruit. While this was only the second year of production from this site, the vines were well balanced between fruit and crop level. Astute viticultural practices allowed this to be the first designate from the Red Dog Vineyard (the 2003 vintage was declassified).

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 95°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 14 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 60% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.4 %, pH 3.62, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 209 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Floral aromas of orange zest, dried roses, fresh herbs, truffle, and black tea. Orange peel, cherry and plum predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture and finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral notes of the nose finishing with underlying tannins to age well. Drink or Hold 7 – 12 years.

About the Vineyard...
The 2003 Chardonnay is the culmination of plant selection we have been working on since 1997. It is made up of two vineyards planted specifically for us from vine cuttings we had selected. The vineyards, the Toyon Farm on the Napa side of Carneros, and the Vella Ranch on the Sonoma side. The vineyards were planted to “Old Wente” and “Robert Young” selections. (These low-cropping "old Wente" Chardonnay cuttings are reputed to have been purchased by the Wente nursery from Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940s - from Louis Latour's Corton Charlemagne vineyard.)

About the Vintage...
The 2003 vintage is the third in an exceptional string of vintages on the West Coast. The fruit ripened slowly through the cool summer with a bit of heat down the stretch bringing the fruit to ripeness. We were able to pick the grapes exactly when we wanted with ideal sugar and above average acid levels. As a result, this vintage has seen a complete malolactic fermentation.

About the Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and food friendly style that develops gracefully in the bottle. For us, the key word is balance. Additionally, we aim to highlight the unique characteristics of the vineyards and clonal selections we work with - producing a Carneros Chardonnay with enticing minerality, structure and vivaciousness. We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French Oak, of which 45% was new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native yeast, and three Burgundian coopers chosen for their synergism and support of the fruit. Fermentation proceeded slowly at cool temperature, averaging 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through May. The wine was not racked cleanly at bottling using inert Argon gas instead of pumping. With the nice natural acidity, we were able to complete malolactic fermentation allowing the wine to be bottled unfiltered. Wine analysis: Alc. 14 %, pH 3.39, ta 6.1 g/l. 700 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
The wine is densely flavored, rich, and layered with broad forward fruit, freesia, ripe apple, and lemon cream aromas layered above creamy yeast notes, cocoa and vanillin. Exceptional richness and fruit intensity with mineral notes framing the opulently textured palate. The finish is long and focused with nicely balanced acidity. This is a more forward vintage than 2002 from the outset, with accentuated mineral and tropical fruits upon release. The wine will continue to develop beautifully in bottle over the next 3 - 4 years.

About the Vineyard...
Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the eastern side of Napa - Carneros. This vineyard was planted for us in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in Sonoma County and Dijon 115 from Burgundy. The Swan cuttings are a mass selection, rather than a single clone, originating from buds hand carried by Joseph Swan from Burgundy in the 1950s and 1960s. It exhibits layers of complexity and a deeper structure and darker flavors than the Dijon clones or Martini selection. The following year we planted Dijon 115 in a block adjacent to the Swan block. It represents approximately 30% of the blend. It brings its characteristic perfume and higher note fruit to complement the dark fruit and structure of the Swan Selection.

About the Vintage...
We have been blessed with an excellent string of vintages - starting with the 2001 and extending to the 2003 harvest. While each vintage has its own personality, all have provided the right conditions for the best expression of the Pinot noir grape. While 2001 possessed elegance and early complexity, 2002 exhibited a more muscular representation. 2003, in contrast, is powerful yet invitingly lush and approachable.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of RC212 (burgundy isolate) cultured yeasts carried out the fermentation. We employed a very warm fermentation, peaking at 94 -95°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Cadus, Remond and Billon - 42% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.5 %, pH 3.68, TA 6.0 g/l. , RS 0.01 g/l. 790 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Lushly textured with spice and dark layered fruit ranging from blackberry, black cherry, to brighter strawberry and raspberry notes. Rich dark chocolate, sandalwood and a slight earthiness add layers to the rich fruit. Framed by nuances of smoke, toasted wood and baking spices. Nice acidity and velvety tannins carry through in the long finish. Drink now or age 4 - 6 years.

About the Vineyard...
While California Pinot Noir producers have been looking (ourselves included) to new, exciting, emerging north coast regions where the grape excels, we have been aware of the potential in overlooked areas in our back yard. The Mink Vineyard is one such case. It is located in the Tulocay area due east of the city of Napa (also known as Coombsville). This is a cool area that enjoys a backdraft of air conditioning from the San Pablo Bay. The soils are very special. The top three feet is a rocky alluvial soil, reddish beige in color with loads of cobblestones. Below the alluvial is a layer of white volcanic ash approximately two feet deep.. The roots work their way through the cobblestones down to the surface of the ash. The ash provides excellent drainage as it is physically similar to limestone in porosity but also has water-holding capacity which it meters back to the vines. The vines can be practically dry farmed, depending on the year, and develop a very nice steady state system that is hard to achieve with drip irrigation. The vineyard is split equally between Swan Selection and Dijon 115 clone of Pinot Noir.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 94°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Billon and Cadus cooperages. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.69, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 96 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Blackberry, cocoa, and plum, dominate the youthful aromas. On the palate the wine is loaded with black cherry/blackberry fruit, blackberry jam, dark chocolate, and tar. Deeply concentrated, full bodied, with excellent texture and firm underlying structure. The palate brims with mouth watering black fruits followed by clove, cinnamon, spice in the finish. This wine will continue to unfold for 5 - 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
In 2003, we transitioned our Russian River designate into a blend of two vineyards planted for us: The Swicegood Vineyard and the Gilbert Perez Vineyard. Both vineyards are in cooler areas of Russian River closer to the chilly Pacific breezes. The Perez Vineyard, planted entirely to Dijon 115, produces a densely flavored wine loaded with juicy berry and cherry fruit. The Swicegood Vineyard, planted to Dijon 115, Dijon 777 and Pommard, is more aromatic with spicy perfume and slower evolving tannins. In both sites soils are a very light sandy loam ensuring excellent drainage.

About the Vintage...
The 2003 vintage continues a string of successful vintages for Pinot Noir in California. A little warmer (than 2002) overall weather ensured excellent tannin ripeness and conspired to make a more forward and flashy style. Nonetheless, we expect the wines to develop gracefully in bottle due to their underlying structure and quality of tannins.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 96°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Francois Freres cooperage, 50% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14 %, pH 3.66, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 300 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Bing and black cherry fruit, plum, cola, sage, smoke, pepper and baking spices in the nose. Velvety texture with lush sweet cherry fruit and spice echoing on the palate in a long, lingering finish.. The wine possesses a forward and hedonistic approachability but with bright acidity and balanced tannins that will allow continued development over time.

About the Vineyard...
Perched atop Sonoma Mountain at 1100 feet elevation, on the cool northwestern slope, Steiner Vineyard is a mere 17 miles from the ocean. Dave Steiner planted his first grapes up here in 1973 - making him a pioneer of the region. Seeing the unique qualities of grapes grown in this outstanding area, Dave (together with Patrick Campell of Laurel Glen) was a driving force in creating the Sonoma Mountain Appellation. While it remains sparsely planted in comparison to other well known appellations, the proven quality of the grapes have created high demand among winemakers. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loamy stuff with fractured ryolite to an austere rocky area that Dave theorizes was "probably an ancient rock slide" composed of alluvial soils intermixed with rocks and gravel. All soils are very old and leached of nutrients giving them low fertility. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes (as are most great Pinot noir areas). As the vines wake up after their fall dormancy, they are greeted to the cold, harsh, maritime breezes that sweep through the area unimpeded by the lower hills in the coastal range. This makes for sometimes problematic fruit set resulting in low yields.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 95°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 14 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 60% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.8 %, pH 3.60, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 190 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Floral aromas of orange zest, dried roses, fresh herbs, truffle, and black tea. Orange peel, cherry and plum predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture and finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral notes of the nose. Drink or Hold 6 – 9 + years.

About the Vineyard...
The 2002 Chardonnay is the culmination of plant selection we have been working on since 1997. We had been selecting cuttings from the most flavorful plants from the vineyards we had sourced - with the idea of making our own “super” selection. The vineyards were planted to “Old Wente” and “Robert Young” selections, so we were already starting with some of the most revered cuttings in California*. Even so, we were intent on making a good thing even better. We had these cuttings planted for us at the Toyon Ranch on the Napa side of Carneros and they produced their first juice in 2001. This blends with the Old Wente selection from the Vella Ranch.

About the Vintage...
The 2002 vintage was exceptional across California. The fruit ripened slowly and evenly with no sudden heat spells or extended cool periods. We were able to pick the grapes exactly when we wanted with ideal sugar and above average acid levels. As a result, this vintage has seen a complete malolactic fermentation.

About the Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and food friendly style that develops gracefully in the bottle. For us, the key word is balance. Additionally, we aim to highlight the unique characteristics of the vineyards and clonal selections we work with. We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French Oak, of which 45% was new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native yeast, and three Burgundian coopers chosen for their synergism and support of the fruit. Fermentation proceeded slowly at cool temperature, averaging 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through May. The wine was not racked until bottling, at which time it was moved with inert Argon gas. Malolactic fermentation was 100% complete. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.2%, pH 3.44, ta 6.0 g/l. 750 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
The wine is big, rich, and layered with juicy fruit, freesia, ripe apple, and lemon cream aromas layered above creamy yeast notes, cocoa and vanillin. As the wine opens, the complexity of the wine shows, display additional nuances of macadamia nuts and tropical fruits. Exceptional richness and fruit intensity with mineral notes framing the opulently textured palate. The finish is long and focused with nicely balanced acidity.

About the Vineyard...
Our Carneros Pinot Noir comes almost entirely from the Toyon Vineyard, located in the eastern side of Napa - Carneros. This vineyard was planted for us in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in Sonoma County. It is a mass selection, rather than a single clone, originating from cuttings hand carried by Joseph Swan from Burgundy in the 1950s and 1960s. It exhibits layers of complexity and a deeper structure and darker flavors than the Dijon clones or Martini selection. The following year we planted Dijon 115 in a block adjacent to the Swan block. It represents approximately 30% of the blend. It brings its characteristic perfume and higher note fruit to complement the deeper toned fruit of the Swan Selection. Approximately 15% of the blend comes from the 30 year old vines that we have sourced since 1992.

About the Vintage...
The 2002 vintage is a classic. Low yields combined with consistent weather and timely warm spells to maximize the lush fruit flavors Pinot Noir is known for. Less obvious, because of the forward nature of the fruit, is the presence of very nice underlying structure and good acidities. This bodes well for the ageability of the vintage as there is much more to develop as the dense fruit flavors gradually heed to the underlying complexity of the wines.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of RC212 (burgundy isolate) cultured yeasts carried out the fermentation. We employed a very warm fermentation, peaking at 95°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Cadus, and Billon - 38% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.9 %, pH 3.66, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 1075 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Full bodied, dense and layered fruit ranging from blackberry, black cherry, to brighter strawberry and raspberry notes. Rich dark chocolate, sandalwood and a slight gaminess/earthiness add layer in to the predominating fruit. All this is framed by nuances of smoke, toasted wood and baking spices. Beneath the sweet fruit are round tannins providing nice structure and focused acidity ensuring excellent length and a nice balance boding well for medium term aging. Drink now or age 5 - 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
While California Pinot Noir producers have been looking (ourselves included) to new, exciting, emerging north coast regions where the grape excels, we have always been cogniscent of the potential in overlooked areas in our back yard. The Mink Vineyard is one such case. It is located in the Tulocay area due east of the city of Napa (also known as Coombsville). This is a cool area that enjoys a backdraft of air conditioning from the San Pablo Bay. The soils are very special. The top three feet is a rocky alluvial soil, reddish beige in color with loads of cobblestones. Below the alluvial is a layer of white volcanic ash approximately two feet deep. The third layer is black clay. The roots work their way through the cobblestones down to the surface of the ash. The ash provides excellent drainage as it is physically similar to limestone in porousity. The clay provides a reservoir of moisture that is slowly wicked back to the vine through the ash - but the vine has to work hard for it. The vines can be practically dry farmed, depending on the year, and develop a very nice steady state system that is hard to achieve with drip irrigation. The vineyard is split equally between Swan Selection and Dijon 115 clone of Pinot Noir.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 94°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Billon and Cadus cooperages. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.69, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 144 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Blueberry, spice, blackberry and plum, dominate the youthful aromas. On the palate the wine is loaded with black cherry/blackberry fruit, dark chocolate, and tar. Deeply concentrated with a firm underlying structure and great length. The palate brims with mouth watering black fruits followed by clove, cinnamon, spice in the finish. This wine will continue to unfold for 5 - 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
The 2002 Russian River Pinot Noir is a blend of two vineyards: The Kent Ritchie Vineyard located in the warmer center of Russian River Valley, and the Gilbert Perez Vineyard, in the cooler south side of the city of Sebastopol. Kent's 32 year old vines lend more of a racy spiciness to the wine while Gilbert's layers in juicy cherry/berry fruit and nice aromatics. In both sites, soils are a very light sandy loam, almost powdery after cultivation. Kent's vineyard also has volcanic ash outcroppings in parts of the Pinot Noir block.

About the Vintage...
The 2002 vintage is a classic. Low yields combined with consistent weather and appropriate warm spells to maximize the lush fruit flavors Pinot Noir is known for. Less obvious, because of the forward nature of the fruit, is the presence of very nice underlying structure and good acidities. This bodes well for the ageability of the vintage as there is much more to develop as the dense fruit flavors gradually heed to the underlying complexity of the wines.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 96°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Francois Freres cooperage, 50% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.9 %, pH 3.64, ta 5.8 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 275 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Bing and black cherry fruit, sandalwood, smoke, pepper and baking spices in the nose. Lush, sweet fruit predominates on the palate delineated by an excellent sense of focus and length. At release, the wine continues to flesh out days after being opened - displaying that the best is yet to come! Finishes long with a supple texture and balanced acidity.

About the Vineyard...
Perched atop Sonoma Mountain at 1100 feet elevation, on the cool northwestern slope, Steiner Vineyard is a mere 17 miles from the ocean. Dave Steiner planted his first grapes up here in 1973 - making him a pioneer of the region. Seeing the unique qualities of grapes grown in this outstanding area, Dave (together with Patrick Campell of Laurel Glen) was a driving force in creating the Sonoma Mountain Appellation. While it remains sparsely planted in comparison to other well known appellations, the proven quality of the grapes have created high demand among winemakers. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loamy stuff with fractured ryolite to an austere rocky area that Dave theorizes was "probably an ancient rock slide" composed of alluvial soils intermixed with rocks and gravel. All soils are very old and leached of nutrients giving them low fertility. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes (as are most great Pinot noir areas). As the vines wake up after their fall dormancy, they are greeted to the cold, harsh, maritime breezes that sweep through the area unimpeded by the lower hills in the coastal range. This makes for sometimes problematic fruit set resulting in low yields.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 95°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 12 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 50% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.8 %, pH 3.66, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 320 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Floral aromas of sage, violets, orange zest, dried roses, truffle, and black tea. Orange peel, cherry and blueberry fruit predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture but possesses a firm underlying structure. Finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral notes of the nose. Drink or Hold 10 +years.

About the Vineyard...
My continuing adventures on the Pinot noir trail lead to a novel joint project for 2002. We shipped 2 tons of Carneros Pinot noir to Laurent Montalieu (Oregon winemaker extraordinaire, currently making wonderful wines under his Solena label) in Oregon in exchange for 2 tons of Willakenzie Estate Pinot noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. This was something that had been on my to do list for quite some time having grown up in the center of the Willamette Valley and discovered this grape called Pinot in my formative years there. For both of us it was an opportunity to work with a different palette of flavors and compare our unique interpretations. A little luck was on our side as 2002 turned out to be an outstanding vintage on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line The soils are always a point of focus for me. The Willakenzine Vineyard is comprised of sedimentary soils with underlying sandstone. This vineyard has hillside location with shallow and well drained, Willakenzie series silt-clay-loam.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed directly to fermenter, cold soaked for 4 days at 58°F, innoculated with Burgundian isolate yeast and pressed after a 10 day fermentation. The grapes extracted very easily giving up most of their color in the first few days of fermentation. Structure came later and prompted us to macerate for a few days after completion of fermentation.

Tasting Notes...
For us, the Oregon Pinot possesses elegant perfume of dried roses, plum, boysenberry, and forest floor, with a beautifully textured mid-palate, nice structure, and distinct earth nuances underlying it all. The earthiness (coming across more as a forest floor/humus character) and aromatics are the most distinctive from our other bottlings. The wine has developed more slowly than our other bottlings with the exception of the Sonoma Mountain designate - but we feel it has the balance to age very well.

About the Vineyard...
The 2001 Chardonnay is the culmination of plant selection we have been working on since 1997. We had been selecting cuttings from the most flavorful plants from the vineyards we had sourced - with the idea of making our own “super” selection. The vineyards were planted to “Old Wente” and “Robert Young” selections, so we were already starting with some of the most revered cuttings in California*. Even so, we were intent on making a good thing even better. We had these cuttings planted for us at the Toyon Ranch on the Napa side of Carneros and they produced their first juice in 2001. This blends with the Old Wente selection from Sangiacomo’s Vella Ranch.

About the Vintage...
The 2001 vintage was one of our easiest in memory. The fruit ripened slowly and evenly with no sudden heat spells or extended cool periods. Acidity levels were excellent as was flavor development. We were able to pick the grapes exactly when we wanted with ideal sugar and acid levels

About the Wine...
We aspire to guide our Chardonnay toward a layered, complex, and food friendly style that develops gracefully in the bottle. For us, the key word is balance. Additionally, we aim to highlight the unique characteristics of the vineyards and clonal selections we work with. We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French Oak, of which 45% was new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native yeast, and three Burgundian coopers chosen for their synergism and support of the fruit. Fermentation proceeded slowly at cool temperature, averaging 55°F. The wine was aged on its yeast lees, which were stirred weekly through May. The wine was not racked until bottling, at which time it was moved with inert Argon gas. Malolactic fermentation was 70% complete. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.9%, pH 3.42, ta 6.0 g/l. 700 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
The wine is big, rich, and layered with juicy fruit, freesia, ripe apple, and lemon cream aromas layered above creamy yeast notes, cocoa and vanillin. As the wine opens, the complexity of the wine shows, display additional nuances of macadamia nuts and tropical fruits. Exceptional richness and fruit intensity with mineral notes framing the opulently textured palate. The finish is long and focused with nicely balanced acidity.

About the Vineyard...
Our Carneros Pinot Noir is a blend of two vineyards situated near the Napa-Sonoma county line at the southern end of the appellation. The first vineyard, Domaine Chandon #105, planted in 1973 to the Martini clone, is an austere site with lean soils and low vigor. The 30 year old vines, becoming rare as many of California's early Pinot noir plantings succumb to phylloxera or virus, lend an underlying concentration to the wine. The second vineyard is the Toyon Vineyard, located in the eastern side of Carneros. This vineyard was planted for us in 1998 with cuttings originating from the Swan estate in Sonoma County. It is a mass selection, rather than a single clone, originating from cuttings hand carried by Joseph Swan from Burgundy in the 1950s and 1960s. It exhibits layers of complexity and a deeper structure and darker flavors than we normally see in the Martini clone. It is loaded with dense youthful fruit that synergizes nicely with the more perfumed Domaine Chandon block.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of RC212 (burgundy isolate) cultured yeasts carried out the fermentation. We employed a very warm fermentation, peaking at 95°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Cadus, and Billon - 38% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.9 %, pH 3.66, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 1075 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep garnet color. Layered aromas of raspberry, rich blackberry and black cherry fruit with spice, coffee, cocoa/chocolate. The palate is full and velvety in texture, bursting with blackberry/cherry fruit, anise, chocolate, and coffee. The finish is long and focused with lingering bright fruit and bright acidity. The wine has underlying tannic structure and will age nicely, unfolding additional layers with time. Drink or hold 5 – 8 years.

About the Vineyard...
The Kent Ritchie Vineyard Vineyard (aka Poplar) is located just down the street from the Swan Estate vineyard in the center of the Russian River Valley. It was planted in 1974. The vineyard is planted to an unknown clone of Pinot Noir - possibly the Wente selection(?). The soils are a very light sandy loam, almost powdery after cultivation. Throughout the vineyard there are volcanic outcroppings where ash is at the surface. This suggests underlying volcanic ash at varying depths throughout the vineyard. The drainage is excellent and the vigor moderate. The vines are deep rooted and tend to do very well with minimal irrigation.

About the Vintage...
The 2001 vintage was one of our easiest in memory. The fruit ripened slowly and evenly with no sudden heat spells or extended cool periods. Acidity levels were excellent as was flavor development. We were able to pick the grapes exactly when we wanted with ideal sugar and acid levels. The wines possess exceptional balance and intensity enabling them show well upon release and boding well for aging from 3 - 5 years from release.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 96°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Francois Freres cooperage, 50% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.9 %, pH 3.64, ta 5.8 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 275 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Bing cherry fruit, slight. smokiness, spice, and toast are followed by deeper tones of pepper and black cherry in the aromas. The wine is broadly textured and bright with rich sweet fruit and racy spice on the palate. Finishes long with a supple texture and balanced acidity. The wine continues to open up in the glass hinting to additional structure and depth to evolve with bottle aging.

About the Vineyard...
Perched atop Sonoma Mountain at 1100 feet elevation, on the cool northwestern slope, Steiner Vineyard is a mere 17 miles from the ocean. Dave Steiner planted his first grapes up here in 1973 - making him a pioneer of the region. Seeing the unique qualities of grapes grown in this outstanding area, Dave (together with Patrick Campell of Laurel Glen) was a driving force in creating the Sonoma Mountain Appellation. While it remains sparsely planted in comparison to other well known appellations, the proven quality of the grapes have created high demand among winemakers. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loamy stuff with fractured ryolite to an austere rocky area that Dave theorizes was "probably an ancient rock slide" composed of alluvial soils intermixed with rocks and gravel. All soils are very old and leached of nutrients giving them low fertility. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes (as are most great Pinot noir areas). As the vines wake up after their fall dormancy, they are greeted to the cold, harsh, maritime breezes that sweep through the area unimpeded by the lower hills in the coastal range. This makes for sometimes problematic fruit set resulting in low yields.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 95°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 12 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 50% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.8 %, pH 3.66, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 250 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Floral aromas of sage, violets, orange zest, dried roses, truffle, and black tea. Black cherry and blueberry fruit predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture and finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral notes of the nose. Drink or Hold 7 - 10 years.

About the Vineyard...
Our fruit comes from a 28 year old block of old Wente Chardonnay from the Ferguson vineyard. The rocky soils and brisk winds conspire to make this an austere site with low vigor and very exposed vines. The resultant wines are more intensely mineral with broad texture and deep rich flavors. We continue to blend this with old Wente clone Chardonnay from Sangiacomo's Vella block. These "old Wente" Chardonnay cuttings are reputed to have been purchased by the Wente nursery from Paul Masson who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940s - from Louis Latour's Corton Charlemagne vineyard. We think of these selections as "heirloom" clones as they produce wines of exceptional concentration, breadth, complexity and longevity. There is less and less of this material available. As the old vineyards are replanted, few are anxious to replant to old Wente as the crop level is very low.

About the Vintage...
The 2000 vintage had none of the extremes of the previous two vintages (cold 1998, colder 1999 with warm spike at the end of the season). It did have consistent moderate temperatures and a nice ripening "stretch run". Maybe we can consider it back to normal! The wines seemed a little more subtle, slightly lower in acid, and shy at the beginning but have developed in dramatic fashion. They possess excellent balance with lush forward fruit, certainly outshining the heralded 1999 vintage at release.

About the Wine...
We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French Oak, of which 45% was new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native yeast, and three Burgundian coopers chosen for their synergism and support of the fruit. Fermentation proceeded slowly at cool temperature, averaging 55°F. The wine was aged on its lees, which were stirred weekly through May. The wine was not racked until bottling, a t which time it was moved with inert Argon gas. Malolactic fermentation was 50% complete. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.7%, pH 3.44, ta 6.0 g/l. 600 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Honeydew melon, ripe apple, ginger, freesia, and lemon aromas are echoed in the palate. Layers of baked apple, pear, and melon are framed by a flinty/mineral finish with creamy vanillin providing support to the focused finish. Nice acidity provides a refreshing balance and vibrance to the wine. Viscous in texture and opulent in its intensity, this wine will continue to develop in bottle over the next several years.

About the Vineyard...
Our Carneros Pinot Noir is a blend of two very similar vineyards situated near the Napa-Sonoma county line a t the southern end of the appellation. The two vineyards, Domaine Chandon #105, and the Ferguson Ranch were both planted in 1973. Both are austere sites with lean soils and low vigor. The similarity of site, rootstock (both are St. George - 8X12 spacing), clone (old Martini selection), and vine age ensure a commonality between the wines. The 28 year old vines, becoming rare as many of California's early Pinot noir plantings succumb to phylloxera or virus, lend an underlying concentration to the wine.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of RC212 (burgundy isolate) cultured yeasts carried out the fermentation. We employed a very warm fermentation, peaking at 95°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Cadus, and Billon - 38% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.8 %, pH 3.66, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 1006 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep garnet color. Layered aromas of raspberry, rich blackberry and black cherry fruit with spice, coffee, cocoa/chocolate. The palate is full and velvety in texture, bursting with blackberry/cherry fruit, anise, chocolate, and coffee. The finish is long and focused with lingering bright fruit and bright acidity. The wine has underlying tannic structure and will age nicely, unfolding additional layers with time. Drink or hold 5 – 8 years.

About the Vineyard...
The grapes come from the Donum Estate located in the western hills of Sonoma - Carneros. A clone of unknown origin which entered the U.S. from Burgundy through the East Coast -it is called the Wiemer Selection after the nursery that propogated it. It has moderately sized clusters, with very thick skinned and fleshy grapes. It is vertical shoot positioned with 8X6 spacing. The grapes are shoot thinned early in the season, then cluster thinned at veraison. The soils are composed of dense black Diablo Clay. Cracks up to 2” wide in the summer when it dries out. Vines are perfectly balanced as they struggle to pull the water from this stingy clay late in the season.

About the Wine...
Destemmed directly to fermenter, and cold soaked for 5 days. The thick skins promote an extremely high amount of whole berries, almost 100% to start. The grapes must then be broken up enough to create juice to promote fermentation. Innoculated with Burgundian isolate yeast. Fermented warm, to 95 - 96°F. With 11 days total contact time on skins. The wine was aged for 16 months in French oak from the Bertrange forest of central France.

Tasting Notes...
Deep garnet color with violet overtones. Layered aromas of wild blueberry, rich blackberry/black cherry, cassis, and chocolate. Wispy sandalwood notes rise above the fruit tones. The palate is full with chewey/chocolatey tannins and expansive fruit. At first it is surprisingly dark (for Pinot noir) in its fruit expression on the palate, with time aromatic nuances open up. The finish is long and focused with lingering fruit and bright acidity. The wine has underlying tannic structure and will age nicely, unfolding additional layers with time. Drink or hold 5 – 8 years.

About the Vineyard...
The grapes come from the Donum Estate located in the western hills of Sonoma - Carneros. A clone of unknown origin which entered the U.S. from Burgundy through the East Coast -it is called the Wiemer Selection after the nursery that propogated it. It has moderately sized clusters, with very thick skinned and fleshy grapes. It is vertical shoot positioned with 8X6 spacing. The grapes are shoot thinned early in the season, then cluster thinned at veraison. The soils are composed of dense black Diablo Clay. Cracks up to 2” wide in the summer when it dries out. Vines are perfectly balanced as they struggle to pull the water from this stingy clay late in the season.

About the Wine...
Destemmed directly to fermenter, and cold soaked for 5 days. The thick skins promote an extremely high amount of whole berries, almost 100% to start. The grapes must then be broken up enough to create juice to promote fermentation. Innoculated with Burgundian isolate yeast. Fermented warm, to 95 - 96°F. With 11 days total contact time on skins. The wine was aged for 16 months in French oak from the Bertrange forest of central France.

Tasting Notes...
Deep garnet color with violet overtones. Layered aromas of wild blueberry, rich blackberry/black cherry, cassis, and chocolate. Wispy sandalwood notes rise above the fruit tones. The palate is full with chewey/chocolatey tannins and expansive fruit. At first it is surprisingly dark (for Pinot noir) in its fruit expression on the palate, with time aromatic nuances open up. The finish is long and focused with lingering fruit and bright acidity. The wine has underlying tannic structure and will age nicely, unfolding additional layers with time. Drink or hold 5 – 8 years.

About the Vineyard...
While California Pinot Noir producers have been looking (ourselves included) to new, exciting, emerging north coast regions where the grape excels, we have always been cogniscent of the potential in overlooked areas in our back yard. The Mink Vineyard is one such case. It is located in the Mt. George area due east of the city of Napa (also known as Coombsville). This is a cool area that enjoys a cool backdraft of air conditioning from the San Pablo Bay. The soils are very special. The top three feet is a rocky alluvial soil, reddish beige in color with loads of cobblestones. Below the alluvial is a layer of white volcanic ash approximately two feet deep. The third layer is black clay. The roots work their way through the cobblestones down to the surface of the ash. The ash provides excellent drainage as it is physically similar to limestone in porousity. The clay provides a reservoir of moisture that is slowly wicked back to the vine through the ash - but the vine has to work hard for it. The vines can be practically dry farmed, depending on the year, and develop a very nice steady state system that is hard to achieve with drip irrigation. The vineyard is split equally between Swan Selection and Dijon 115 clone of Pinot Noir.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 94°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Billon and Cadus cooperages. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.8 %, pH 3.68, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 150 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Aromas tend toward baking spices, blueberry, blackberry and plum, deep toned fruit, dark chocolate, and tar. Deep and concentrated with a firm underlying structure and great length. The palate brims with mouth watering black fruits followed by clove, cinnamon, spice in the finish. Remains tight - will benefit from additional bottle age.

About the Vineyard...
The Poplar Vineyard (aka Kent Ritchie Vineyard) is located just down the street from the Swan Estate vineyard in the northern Russian River Valley. It was planted in 1974. The vineyard is planted to an unknown clone of Pinot Noir - possibly the Wente selection(?). The soils are a very light sandy loam, almost powdery after cultivation. Throughout the vineyard there are volcanic outcroppings where ash is at the surface. This suggests underlying volcanic ash at varying depths throughtout the vineyard. The drainage is excellent and the vigor moderate. The vines are deep rooted and tend to do very well with minimal irrigation.

About the Vintage...
The 2000 vintage had none of the extremes of the previous two vintages (cold 1998, colder 1999 with warm spike at the end of the season). It did have consistent moderate temperatures and a nice ripening "stretch run". Maybe we can consider it back to normal! Compared to 1999, the wines seem more layered with higher notes and deeper toned fruit. The volume just keeps building as they develop and they are showing very forward fruit.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 96°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Francois Freres cooperage, 50% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.7 %, pH 3.64, ta 5.8 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 275 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Whiffs of smoke and toast are followed by white pepper, spice, bing cherry and black cherry in the aromas. The wine is broad and bright with rich sweet fruit and leather undertones on the palate. Finishes long with a supple texture. A forward and hedonistic vintage!

About the Vineyard...
Perched atop Sonoma Mountain at 1100 feet elevation, on the cool northwestern slope, Steiner Vineyard is a mere 17 miles from the ocean. Dave Steiner planted his first grapes up here in 1973 - making him a pioneer of the region. Seeing the unique qualities of grapes grown in this outstanding area, Dave (together with Patrick Campell of Laurel Glen) was a driving force in creating the Sonoma Mountain Appellation. While it remains sparsely planted in comparison to other well known appellations, the proven quality of the grapes have created high demand among winemakers. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loamy stuff with fractured ryolite to an austere rocky area that Dave theorizes was "probably an ancient rock slide" composed of alluvial soils intermixed with rocks and gravel. All soils are very old and leached of nutrients giving them low fertility. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes (as are most great Pinot noir areas). As the vines wake up after their fall dormancy, they are greeted to the cold, harsh, maritime breezes that sweep through the area unimpeded by the lower hills in the coastal range. This makes for sometimes problematic fruit set resulting in low yields.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 95°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 12 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 50% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.9 %, pH 3.72, ta 5.7 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 300 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Very aromatic with exotic spices, sage, violets, dried roses, truffle nuances, and black tea. Black cherry and blueberry fruit predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture and finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral aromas in the nose. Drink or Hold 7 - 10 years.

About the Vineyard...
Beginning in 1999, we shifted our sourcing to a 28 year old block of old Wente Chardonnay from the Ferguson vineyard (formerly a Buena Vista leased property). The rocky soils and brisk winds conspire to make this an austere site with low vigor and very exposed vines. The resultant wines are more intensely mineral with broad texture and deep rich flavors. We will continue to blend this with a small amount of old clone Chardonnay from Sangiacomo'sVella block. These "old Wente" Chardonnay cuttings are reputed to have been purchased by the Wente nursery from Paul Mason who imported them from Burgundy in the early 1940s from Louis Latour's Corton Charlemagne vineyard. We think of these selections as "heirloom" clones as they produce wines of exceptional concentration, breadth, complexity and longevity. There is less and less of this material available. As the old vineyards are replanted, few are anxious to replant to old Wente as the crop level is very low.

About the Vintage...
One of the coolest years on record. The Carneros harvest was several weeks later than the harvest in Burgundy! After a bleak and frigid September that had all of us thinking we were making wine in Iceland, a heat spell provided just the push to bring ripeness to ideal levels. We saw tremendous flavors with good acidity and structure. The 1999 vintage posesses more opulence than the rather tight and austere 1998 vintage and better structure than the 1997 vintage.

About the Wine...
We gently pressed the grapes as whole clusters, settled and fermented entirely in French Oak, of which 45% was new. We used a variety of yeasts, including native yeast, and three Burgundian coopers chosen for their synergism and support of the fruit. Fermentation proceeded slowly at cool temperature, averaging 56°F. The wine was aged on its lees, which were stirred weekly through May. the wine was not racked until bottling, a t which time it was moved with inert Argon gas. Malolactic fermentation was 30% complete. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.7%, pH 3.42, ta 6.2 g/l. 600 cases produced. Tasting Notes ... Freesia, ginger spice, green apple, and lemon custard aromas are echoed in the palate. Layers of baked apple, pear, and melon are framed by a flinty/mineral finish with creamy vanillin providing support to the focused finish with nice crisp acidity. Viscous in texture and opulent in its intensity, this wine will continue to develop in bottle over the next several years.

About the Vineyard...
Our Carneros Pinot Noir is a blend of two very similar vineyards situated near the Napa-Sonoma county line a t the southern end of the appellation. The two vineyards, Domaine Chandon #105, and the Ferguson Ranch were both planted in 1973. Both are austere sites with lean soils and low vigor. The similarity of site, rootstock (both are St. George - 8X12 spacing), clone (old Martini selection), and vine age ensure a commonality between the wines. The 28 year old vines, becoming rare as many of California's early Pinot noir plantings succomb to phylloxera or virus, lend an underlying concentration to the wine.

About the Vintage...
1999 was an another cool vintage, following the El Nino year of 1998. Fruit ripening was very slow, this being the latest vintage we have seen - later, in fact, then Burgundy. As we worried, the grapes responded by developing darker skin pigmentation, and more layered flavors. Flavors were great several weeks before harvest. A blast of dry heat during the last week of September finally sent sugars soaring to ripeness. We picked all our vineyards in the shortest window of time we had seen.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of RC212 (burgundy isolate) cultured yeasts carried out the fermentation. We employed a very warm fermentation, peaking at 95°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Cadus, and Billon - 38% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.8 %, pH 3.66, ta 6.2 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 975 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep garnet color. Intense aromas of spice, coffee, cocoa/chocolate, rich blackberry and black cherry fruit with sl. earthy nuances. The palate is full and velvety in texture, bursting with blackberry/cherry fruit, anise, chocolate, and coffee. The finish is long and focused with lingering bright fruit and bright acidity. The wine has underlying tannic structure and will age nicely, unfolding additional layers with time. Drink or hold 5 - 7 years.

About the Vineyard...
While California Pinot Noir producers have been looking (ourselves included) to new, exciting, emerging north coast regions where the grape excels, we have always been cogniscent of the potential in overlooked areas in our back yard. The Mink Vineyard is one such case. It is located in the Mt. George area due east of the city of Napa (also known as Coombsville). This is a cool area that enjoys a cool backdraft of air conditioning from the San Pablo Bay. The soils are very special. The top three feet is a rocky alluvial soil, reddish beige in color with loads of cobblestones. Below the alluvial is a layer of white volcanic ash approximately two feet deep. The third layer is black clay. The roots work their way through the cobblestones down to the surface of the ash. The ash provides excellent drainage as it is physically similar to limestone in porosity. The clay provides a reservoir of moisture that is slowly wicked back to the vine through the ash - but the vine has to work hard for it. The vines can be practically dry farmed, depending on the year, and develop a very nice steady state system that is hard to achieve with drip irrigation. The vineyard is split equally between Swan Selection and Dijon 115 clone of Pinot Noir.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 94°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Billon and Cadus cooperages. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.9 %, pH 3.65, ta 5.8 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 85 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Aromas tend toward baking spices, blueberry, blackberry and plum, deep toned fruit, dark chocolate, and tar. Deep and concentrated with a firm underlying structure and great length. The palate brims with mouth watering black fruits followed by clove, cinnamon, spice in the finish. Remains tight - will benefit from additional bottle age.

About the Vineyard...
A slightly insane idea from an imaginative, if warped, mind became reality in 1999. My dream of working in Burgundy, dashed by winemaking responsibilities in California, led to the idea of bringing the fruit to us. This fruit was grown and harvested by Domaine Arlaud in Morey St. Denis, Burgundy, chilled to 32°F, loaded into a refrigerated cargo container and air freighted to California. It has become a grand experiment in terroir and an incredible learning experience for us. We are thrilled to have had the opportunity. Our thanks go out to all that helped in this challenging endeavor. Location: Morey St. Denis, Les Cogneés Vineyard, Burgundy France. Clone and Viticulture: Mass selection of clones, vineyard varies in age from 25 to 75 year old vines. The vineyard is planted densly to meter by meter spacing, trained in vertical fashion. The vines are not chemically fertilized, using compost instead. In 1999, vines were thinned twice before harvest. Soils: The soils are made up of a reddish clay of approximate 3 feet depth with underlying limestone below. The limestone provides nice drainage this wetter climate.

About the Vintage...
The 1999 vintage was a heralded vintage in Burgundy. The summer was dry and warm with fruit coming to ripeness in late September. Oddly for us, the Burgundy grapes came in before we had picked a single grape in California. It was our good fortune to have chosen such a classic vintage for this endeavor.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed directly to fermenter, innoculated with a Burgundian isolate yeast. Fermented warm, to 95 - 96°F. They were macerated 6 days beyond the completion of fermentation (14 days total contact time on skins). The wine was aged in a new Remond barrel and a used Francois Freres barrel for 12 months.

Tasting Notes...
This elegant wine possesses violets, rose petals, bright red fruits, cherry/huckleberry, wet stone, earth/forest floor nuances and a pronounced mineral character. The wine is tighter than its California siblings, possessing firm acidity that bodes well for medium to long term aging. 45 cases produced.

About the Vineyard...
The Poplar Vineyard (aka Kent Ritchie Vineyard) is located just down the street from the Swan Estate vineyard. It was planted in 1974. The vineyard is planted to an unknown clone of Pinot Noir - possibly the Wente selection(?). The soils are a very light sandy loam, almost powdery after cultivation. Throughout the vineyard there are volcanic outcroppings where ash is at the surface. This suggests underlying volcanic ash at varying depths throughout the vineyard. The drainage is excellent and the vigor moderate. The vines are deep rooted and tend to do very well with minimal irrigation - much like the Mink vineyard.

About the Vintage...
1999 was a very cool and later than average vintage. The Poplar vineyard tends to ripen in mid-season for us, placing it after Carneros but before Sonoma Mountain. In 1999, it came in during the same intense 5 day stretch as Russian River, Carneros, and Sonoma Mountain. While it was the most hectic vintage on record for us, we see the quality as exceptional.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 96°F. The wine was pressed at dryness. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Francois Freres cooperage, 50% new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.8 %, pH 3.68, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 65 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Whiffs of smoke and toast are followed by white pepper, spice, bing cherry and black cherry in the aromas. The wine is broad and bright with rich sweet fruit and leather undertones on the palate. Finishes long with a supple texture.

About the Vineyard...
Perched atop Sonoma Mountain at 1100 feet elevation, on the cool northwestern slope, Steiner Vineyard is a mere 17 miles from the ocean. Dave Steiner planted his first grapes up here in 1973 - making him a pioneer of the region. Seeing the unique qualities of grapes grown in this outstanding area, Dave (together with Patrick Campell of Laurel Glen) was a driving force in creating the Sonoma Mountain Appellation. While it remains sparsely planted in comparison to other well known appellations, the proven quality of the grapes have created high demand among winemakers. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loamy stuff with fractured ryolite to an austere rocky area that Dave theorizes was "probably an ancient rock slide" composed of alluvial soils intermixed with rocks and gravel. All soils are very old and leached of nutrients giving them low fertility. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes (as are most great Pinot noir areas). As the vines wake up after their fall dormancy, they are greeted to the cold, harsh, maritime breezes that sweep through the area unimpeded by the lower hills in the coastal range. This makes for sometimes problematic fruit set resulting in low yields.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 92°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 14 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 50% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.8 %, pH 3.66, ta 5.9 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 270 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Very aromatic with exotic spices, sage, violets, dried roses, truffle nuances, and black tea. Black cherry and blueberry fruit predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture and finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral aromas in the nose. Drink or Hold 7 - 10 years.

About the Vineyard...
Our Chardonnay comes from a hillside vineyard in the Carneros region of Napa Valley. The clonal selection of the vineyard is varied resulting in kind of a field blend. Most California Chardonnay comes from "certified" clones of Chardonnay made available from UC Davis. These clones produce grapes with large berries, clusters and generous crops. "Vineyard selections", on the other hand, are often a mix of clones making complex and concentrated wines. Each vineyard selection is rather unique in that different vines are selected for each propagation. The origins of the different clones within any selection sometimes date back many years and may be relatives of an originating vineyard in Burgundy. This selection is intensely floral and fruity with just a touch of muscat character.

About the Vintage...
Strange year. This El Nino year provided a few surprises, such as an August rainstorm, but by and large it was very even with a cool "stretch run" that I'd love to have every year. The weather provided the opportunity for excellent development of flavors. The fruit retained above average acidity due to the cool weather that will result in slower development but will bode well for medium term ageing. The challenges were site specific, and dependent on crop level, susceptiblity to botrytis (management and site dependent), and timing of ripening as well. We were fortunate to have practically no botrytis as the windy, exposed site provided the conditions to quickly dry the fruit.

About the Wine...
The grapes were pressed as whole clusters and cold settled. The wine was then racked to barrels for fermentation. A selection of different yeasts were used for complexity. We selected a blend of two Burgundian coopers - Francois Freres and Damy - for their synergism. The former providing complex flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg spices, the latter, providing sweetness and richness in support of the fruit. The wine was then aged on its fermentation lees for the 11 months leading up to bottling. Stirring of the lees was done at each topping a l l the way through July - giving the wine a lush, supple texture. The wine was bottled at the end of August. Wine analysis: Alc. 14%, pH 3.36, ta 6.2 g/l. 400 cases produced. Tasting Notes ... Aromatic fruit, freesia, apple, mandarin, lemon merangue, and toast characterize the exotic nose and echo through on the palate. Subtle vanillin, toasted nuts, provide complexity to the intense tropical fruit and rich, full bodied flavors. Finish is long and focused, with nice crisp acidity providing definition and balance.

About the Vineyard...
The 1998 vintage marks the first year we have blended another vineyard into our Carneros bottling. Through 1997, our sole grape source was from Domaine Chandon's 26 year old original Carneros planting. The grapes were selected from the lowest vigor area - a loamy/clay soil with thin, shallow soils located on a mild northeastern slope in Napa-Carneros. Its unique flavor profile continues to provide a strong and distinctive personality to our Carneros Pinot noir, and it remains the largest part of the blend. In 1998, we were fortunate to begin a relationship with Buena Vista Vineyards. This fruit comes from a 26 year old, loamy clay soil (sound familiar?!) about one mile from the Chandon vineyard. It too, sits on a hillside with both east and west exposures. The similarity of site, rootstock (both are St. George - 8X12 spacing), clone (old Martini selection), and vine age (both planted in 1973) provide great continuity.

About the Vintage...
1998 was an very cool vintage. For a time it seemed as though we would never ripen the fruit. As we worried, the grapes responded by developing darker skin pigmentation, and more layered flavors. A warm end to September followed by a balmy October not only waylayed our concerns but made for a truly classic vintage. The cooler than average vintage ensured development of velvety, ripe tannins and bright, rich forward fruit.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of "Assmannshausen" as well as RC212 (burgundy isolate) cultured yeasts carried out the fermentation. We employed a very warm fermentation, peaking at 94°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres and Billon - 35% new oak was used. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.6 %, pH 3.62, ta 6.3 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 800 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep garnet color. Intense aromas of spice, coffee, cocoa/chocolate, rich blackberry and black cherry fruit with sl. earthy nuances. The palate is full and velvety in texture, bursting with blackberry/cherry fruit, anise, chocolate, and coffee. The finish is long and focused with lingering bright fruit and bright acidity. The wine has good tannic structure and will age nicely, unfolding additional layers with time. Drink or hold 6 - 9 years.

About the Vineyard...
Perched atop Sonoma Mountain at 1000 feet elevation, on the cool northwestern slope, Steiner Vineyard is a mere 17 miles from the ocean. Dave Steiner planted his first grapes up here in 1973 - making him a pioneer of the region. Seeing the unique qualities of grapes grown in this outstanding area, Dave (together with Patrick Campell of Laurel Glen) was a driving force in creating the Sonoma Mountain Appellation. While it remains sparsely planted in comparison to other well known appellations, the proven quality of the grapes have created high demand among winemakers. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loamy stuff with fractured ryolite to an austere rocky area that Dave theorizes was "probably an ancient rock slide" composed of alluvial soils intermixed with rocks and gravel. All soils are very old and leached of nutrients giving them low fertility. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes (as are most great Pinot noir areas). As the vines wake up after their fall dormancy, they are greeted to the cold, harsh, maritime breezes that sweep through the area unimpeded by the lower hills in the coastal range. This makes for sometimes problematic fruit set resulting in low yields.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 92°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 14 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 50% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.7 %, pH 3.66, ta 6.1 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 56 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Very aromatic with exotic spices, sage, violets, dried roses, truffle nuances, and black tea. Black cherry and blueberry fruit predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture and finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral aromas in the nose.

About the Vineyard...
The 1997 Chardonnay comes from a hillside vineyard in the Carneros region of Napa Valley. With excellent drainage and southwest facing slope. The site is cooler than many in Carneros as it is not sheltered from the breezes coming off of San Pablo Bay. The clonal selection of the vineyard is varied resulting in kind of a field blend. Most California Chardonnay come from "certified" clones of Chardonnay made available from UC Davis. These clones produce grapes with large berries, clusters and generous crops. "Vineyard selections", on the other hand, are generally a mix of clones making complex and concentrated wines while usually cropping lower. Each vineyard selection is rather unique in that different vines are selected for each propagation. The origins of the different clones within any selection sometimes date back many years and may be relatives of an originating vineyard in Burgundy. This selection is intensely floral and fruity with just a touch of muscat character.

About the Vintage...
1997 was a bit of a dicotomy, consisting of a very warm June and July and ending with a rather long, cool stretch in September - punctuated by a few short hot spells. The vineyard yields were plentiful, but the warmth carried the fruit to full ripeness earlier than usual. The grapes developed impressive flavor intensity and tended toward juicy ripe tropical fruits.

About the Wine...
The grapes were pressed as whole clusters and cold settled. The wine was then racked to barrels for fermentation. A selection of different yeasts were used for complexity. We selected a blend of two Burgundian coopers - Francois Freres and Damy - for their synergism. The former providing complex flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg spices, the latter, providing sweetness and richness in support of the fruit. The wine was then aged on its fermentation lees for the 11 months leading up to bottling. Stirring of the lees was done at each topping a l l the way through July - giving the wine a lush, supple texture. The wine was bottled at the end of August. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.3%, pH 3.30, ta 6.2 g/l. 325 cases produced. Tasting Notes ... Aromatic fruit, freesia, apple, mandarin, lemon merangue, and toast characterize the exotic nose and echo through on the palate. Subtle vanillin, toasted nuts, provide complexity to the intense tropical fruit and rich, full bodied flavors. Finish is long and focused, with nice crisp acidity providing definition and balance.

About the Vineyard...
The 1997 Ancien Carneros Pinot noir comes from 25 year old vines - part of the first planting at Domaine Chandon in the early '70s. The vineyard is located on a northeastern slope in thin sandy, clay/loam soil with excellent drainage. The combination of vine age, the northeastern slope (sheltering the vines from the brisk Carneros winds), and the lighter soils combine to make this a unique site. Located in southern Carneros, this is a cool site even by Carneros standards. The vines are very low in vigor due to the shallow soils, allowing plenty of sunlight to make its way to the small clusters. The fruit expresses itself with intense earthy, mushroom, and sometimes meaty aromas, dark red fruit predominates with anise, spice, and blackberry notes providing added complexity .

About the Vintage...
1997 was a bit of a dicotomy, consisting of a very warm June and July and ending with a rather long, cool stretch in September - puntuated by a few short hot spells. The grapes developed impressive flavor intensity and color with above average "hang time". The timing of the heat spells may have aided in the development of a underlying tannic structure that is apparent in this vintage. Finally, a late heat spell sent the sugars soaring as the vulnerable grapes leaped to ripeness practically over night.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and punched down 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of "Assmannshausen" cultured yeast made for a slow start to fermentation, allowing us to "work" the fruit assuring full extraction. Once the fermentation started, it roared, peaking at 95°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres and Billon - 33% new oak was used. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were done by gravity or by pushing with inert gas in the production of this wine all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 14.4%, pH 3.66, ta 6.2 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 365 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep garnet color. Intense aromas of spice, cocoa/chocolate, deep blackberry and black cherry fruit with sl. earthy nuances. The palate is full in texture, bursting with blackberry/cherry fruit, anise, chocolate, and coffee. The finish is long and focused with lingering bright fruit and bright acidity. The wine has good tannic structure and will age nicely, unfolding additional layers with time. Drink or hold 6 - 8 years.

About the Vineyard...
Perched atop Sonoma Mountain at 1000 feet elevation, on the cool northwestern slope, Steiner Vineyard is a mere 17 miles from the ocean. Dave Steiner planted his first grapes up here in 1973 - making him a pioneer of the region. Seeing the unique qualities of grapes grown in this outstanding area, Dave (together with Patrick Campell of Laurel Glen) was a driving force in creating the Sonoma Mountain Appellation. While it remains sparsely planted in comparison to other well known appellations, the proven quality of the grapes have created high demand among winemakers. The soils vary through the vineyard changing from clay loamy stuff with fractured ryolite to an austere rocky area that Dave theorizes was "probably an ancient rock slide" composed of alluvial soils intermixed with rocks and gravel. All soils are very old and leached of nutrients giving them low fertility. It is a truly spectacular vista point but a challenging place to grow grapes (as are most great Pinot noir areas). As the vines wake up after their fall dormancy, they are greeted to the cold, harsh, maritime breezes that sweep through the area unimpeded by the lower hills in the coastal range. This makes for sometimes problematic fruit set resulting in low yields.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and cold soaked for 4 days. We punched down by hand 4 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. We innoculated with RC 212 yeast (a Burgundian isolate) and fermented warm, peaking about 92°F. The wine given a post-fermentation maceration, with a total skin contact time of 14 days. The wine was aged entirely in French barrels from the Tonnellerie Remond cooperage, of which 50% were new. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were made by pushing with inert gas all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.7 %, pH 3.66, ta 6.1 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 56 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Aromatic with exotic spices, sage, violets, dried roses, truffle nuances, and black tea. Black cherry and blueberry fruit predominate on the palate framed nicely by subtle vanillin, cocoa and toasted oak. The wine is velvety in texture and finishes with very long, lingering flavors echoing the floral aromas in the nose.

About the Vineyard...
The 1996 Ancien Carneros Pinot noir comes from 25 year old vines - part of the first planting at Domaine Chandon in the early '70s. The vineyard is located on a northeastern slope in thin sandy, clay/loam soil with excellent drainage. The combination of vine age and the northeastern slope (sheltering the vines from the brisk Carneros winds) makes this a unique site. Located in southern Carneros (with a view of San Pablo bay), this is a cool site even by Carneros standards. The vines are very low in vigor due to the austere site, allowing plenty of sunlight to make its way to the small clusters. The fruit expresses itself with intense earthy, mushroom, and sometimes meaty aromas, Dark red fruit predominates with anise, spice, and blackberry notes providing added complexity.

About the Vintage...
1996 was an unusually warm summer that cooled down just in time for the "stretch run", allowing great development of flavors in the grapes. The 1996 vintage will be known for the intensity of its forward fruit and approachability. This wine has shown well from early on and has exhibited few of the adolescent moody periods so typical of Pinot noir. While it ultimately may not enjoy the longevity that the 1994 and 1995 vintages will, it may well drink better over its first 2 - 3 years.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and punched down 3 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of "Assmannshausen" cultured yeast made for a slow start to fermentation, allowing us to "work" the fruit assuring full extraction. Once the fermentation started, it roared, peaking at 94°F. The wine was gently pressed at dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres and Billon - 33% new oak was used. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were done by gravity or by pushing with inert gas in the production of this wine all the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.9%, pH 3.68, ta 6..2 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 340 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Deep garnet color. Intense aromas of black cherry, raspberry, cocoa/chocolate, spice, and sl. earthy nuances. The palate is smooth and velvety in texture, bursting with blackberry/cherry fruit, anise, chocolate, and coffee. The finish is long and focused with lingering bright fruit. Drink now or hold 5 -7 yrs.

About the Vineyard...
The 1995 Ancien Pinot noir comes from 24 year old vines (Owned by Domaine Chandon) in the Carneros region of the Napa Valley. The vineyard is located on a northeastern slope in thin sandy, clay/loam soil with excellent drainage. The combination of vine age and the north eastern slope (sheltering the vines from the brisk Carneros winds) makes this a unique site. Located in southern Carneros (with a view of San Pablo bay), this is a cool site even by Carneros standards. The fruit expresses itself with intense earthy, mushroom, and sometimes meaty aromas. Dark red fruit predominates with anise, spice, and blackberry notes providing added complexity.

About the Vintage...
Overall the 1995 vintage appears to be a little more variable compared to the consistent quality of the much hyped 1994 vintage. This variability was hit at crop set as we received rains at bloom that affected some vineyards. Our vineyard had an average to slightly below average crop. Ripening in September was cool resulting in a late vintage. While perhaps not quite as forward early on as the ‘94 was, it has great depth of fruit and more structure. It may well prove to be the better vintage down the road.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and punched down 3 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of "Assmannshausen" cultured yeast made for a slow start to fermentation, allowing us to "work" the fruit assuring full extraction of the fruit. once the fermentation started, it roared, peaking at 94°F. The wine was gently pressed AT dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in french oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Billon, and Dargaud Jaegle. 33% new oak was used. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were done by gravity or by pushing with inert gas in the production of this wine a l l the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.6%, pH 3.68, ta 6..1 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 250 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Dark red fruits: Black cherry and Blackberry, chocolate, cola, sl. anise/spice and toasty aromas in the nose. broad palate with focused blackberry and dark cherry fruit following through in the mouth. Coffee, toasted grains, and sweet vanillin provide complexity to the flavors. The typically firm tannins and acidity give the wine exceptional structure.

About the Vineyard...
The 1994 Ancien Pinot noir comes from 24 year old vines (Owned by Domaine Chandon) in the Carneros region of the Napa Valley. The vineyard is located on a northeastern slope in thin sandy, clay/loam soil with excellent drainage. The combination of vine age and the north eastern slope (sheltering the vines from the brisk Carneros winds) makes this a unique site. Located in southern Carneros (with a view of San Pablo bay), this is a cool site even by Carneros standards. The fruit expresses itself with intense earthy, mushroom, and sometimes meaty aromas. Dark red fruit predominates with anise, spice, and blackberry notes providing added complexity.

About the Vintage...
1994 was a classic Pinot noir vintage in Carneros. The crop set was low to moderate in the Spring with excellent uniformity. Temperatures throughout the summer were almost ideal and the harvest stretch run was cool and consistent – with a slight bit of heat puntuating an almost perfect season.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and punched down 3 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of "Assmannshausen" cultured yeast made for a slow start to fermentation, allowing us to "work" the fruit assuring full extraction of the fruit. once the fermentation started, it roared, peaking at 94°F. The wine was gently pressed AT dryness and went directly to barrel. The wine was aged entirely in French oak from the coopers Francois Freres, Billon, and Dargaud Jaegle. 33% new oak was used. The wine was racked once prior to bottling. Wine movements were done by gravity or by pushing with inert gas in the production of this wine a l l the way until bottling. Wine analysis: Alc. 13.6%, pH 3.68, ta 6..1 g/l. , r.s. 0.01 g/l. 250 cases produced.

Tasting Notes...
Lush fruit with black cherry and Blackberry, chocolate, cola, sl. anise/spice and toasty aromas in the nose. Blackberry and dark cherry flavors follow through in the mouth, filled out by round, supple and ripe tannins. Coffee, toasted grains, and earth tones add layers and dimension to the concentrated and long palate.

About the Vineyard...
The 1993 Ancien Pinot noir comes from 21 year old vines in the Carneros region of the Napa Valley. The vineyard is located on a north-eastern slope in thin clay/loam soil with excellent drainage. The combination of vine age and the north eastern slope (sheltering the vines from the brisk Carneros winds) makes this a unique site. The fruit expresses itself with earthy, mushroom, and sometimes meaty aromas underneath the more typical "Carneros cherry fruit" along with anise, spice, and blackberry. It is the complexity of this fruit that we found appealing in our selection of this site.

About the Vintage...
The 1993 vintage was characterized by even fruit set, moderate crop levels, and warmer than average temperatures in August. The warmth produced richly textured wines with ripe tannins and moderate acidity levels. Overall, look for the wines to be lush, nicely concentrated, and approachable at release or after short term aging.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and punched down 3 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of "Assmannshausen" cultured yeast made for a very slow start to fermentation, allowing for extraction of flavor and color. Still, once the fermentation started, it peaked early in the fermentation( at 92°F) allowing for full extraction of the grapes. The wine was gently pressed four days after dryness by hand in a basket press and went directly to barrel. The wine was then aged in Francois Freres and Billon barrels and was racked once in the Spring. The wine was bottled in September, 1994. The 1993 vintage produced wines with impressive intensity and a fair bit of tannin and structure. The fruit intensity makes them attractive to drink now with the structure to continue develop.

Tasting Notes...
Lush blackberry and black cherry flavors with anise and spice layered over plum, dark chocolate, and coffee flavors. The palate reverberates with lingering blackberry fruit, mint, and spice. The wine is generously textured with a long finish. Drink or hold 3 - 6 years.

About the Vineyard...
The 1992 Ancien Pinot noir comes from 20 year old vines in the Carneros region of the Napa Valley. The vineyard is located on a north-eastern slope in thin clay/loam soil with excellent drainage. The combination of vine age and the north eastern slope (sheltering the vines from the brisk Carneros winds) makes this a unique site. The fruit expresses itself with earthy, mushroom, and sometimes meaty aromas underneath the more typical "Carneros cherry fruit" along with anise, spice, and blackberry. It is the complexity of this fruit that we found appealing in our selection of this site.

About the Vintage...
The harvest of 1992 will be remembered for the miracle March rains. Being the fourth year of a drought, reservoirs were low and vines may well have run out of water (and energy) by harvest. Struggling vines may make great wines but stressed vines make lousy wines. With the March rain came enough vegetative growth and enough water in the soil profile to carry the vines well into July. A few small drinks allowed the vines to mature its small crop by the 1st of September. Below average yields (perhaps attributable to those same March rains) aided in producing grapes with exceptionally concentrated flavors.

About the Wine...
The grapes were 100% destemmed into an open top fermenter and punched down 3 times per day at the beginning of fermentation. This was decreased to 2 times per day by the end of fermentation. A small innoculum of "Assmannshausen" cultured yeast made for a very slow start to fermentation, allowing for extraction of flavanoids and color. Still, once the fermentation started, it peaked early in the fermentation( at 92°F) allowing for full extraction of the grapes. The wine was gently pressed four days after dryness by hand in a basket press and went directly to barrel. The wine was then aged in Francois Freres and Billon barrels and was racked once in the Spring. In September it was bottled by hand using a gravity filler. The 1992 vintage produced wines with impressive intensity and a fair bit of tannin and structure. The fruit intensity makes them attractive to drink now with the structure to continue develop. The 1992 Ancien is drinking well upon release, but should continue to develop at least 5 years.

Tasting Notes...
Blackberry, cherry, cassis, anise, slight mint and bay leaves in the aromas overlaid on plummy, anise, cola, dark chocolate, and coffee flavors with lingering blackberry fruit and spice. Great length and complexity! Drink or hold 5 - 7 years.