Harvest Date October 3 - October 23
Growing Season 2008 began with an exceptionally dry spring and early budbreak. Frosts in April significantly lowered cluster counts. Weather stabilized and warmed through summer, with warmer temperatures continuing through harvest. A smaller crop of high quality fruit was able to ripen fully and evenly, developing an excellent balance of sugars and acid. Overall, the 2008 wines are bright and expressive with well-articulated flavors.
Winemaking
• Hand-harvested grapes
• Fermented in closed-top stainless steel fermentors with indigenous selected yeasts
• 5-day cold soak, 29 days total maceration
• Spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrels
• Aged 20 months in French oak; 72% new
• Varietal Composition: 96% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc
• Unfined and unfiltered; bottled June 2010