Palate
: Bringing together everything we love about great merlot and cabernet franc,
this is a gorgeous expression of what can be achieved in an iconic vineyard in a great
vintage. A deep, rich core of spiced cherry from the merlot is surrounded by layers of rose
and sage from the cabernet franc, which also contributes excellent acidity and beautiful finegrained tannins. Oak aging has subtly imparted hints of cinnamon, smoke and cobbler,
underscoring the merlot’s body and richness. The finish is long and lingering with pure red
berry and spice notes.
Growing Conditions
2012 was an exceptional vintage, providing ideal weather at every stage
of development. Spring was cool to temperate with almost all of the rain falling in May and
June. July and August were dry, with beautiful weather and no extreme heat events. In the
run-up to harvest we had temperatures in the 65º to 70º range, allowing us to pick exactly
when we wanted with a perfect balance of sugar and acid.
Harvest
We harvested our merlot from
Conner Lee on September 28th and our cabernet franc a month later, on October 29th.
Bottling
The final wine was blended just prior to bottling in January 2014.
Winemaking
We hand-sorted and destemmed the fruit. To preserve aromatics, the merlot
was gravity transferred to small fermenters and fermented for 17 days. The cabernet franc
was fermented in wood tanks for 15 days. Both were aerated during fermentation, and only
free-run wine was selected for the blend.
Aging
The wines were aged 15 months in Taransaud and
Bel Air French Château barrels and 500-liter puncheons, with 40% new oak and minimal
racking.
