Harvest Date Slusser - October 14 / Occidental– October 29

Growing Season The long, cool La Niña summer of 1999 promoted excellent flavor retention in the grapes, with high acidity and low pH. The warm Indian summer weather in October fully ripened the fruit to produce some of the best wines of the decade.

Winemaking

• Hand-harvested grapes
• Whole cluster, direct to press
• Barrel fermented with indigenous yeast, 7 months to completion
• Concurrent native malolactic fermentation in barrels
• Barrel aged 10 months, 50% new French oak, sur-lies and stirred
• Bottled unfined, unfiltered August 2000