This wine offers a wonderful perfumed nose of Bing cherries, rose petal and nutmeg. There is a bright cherry/strawberry nose, with a hint of mushroom, spice, pie cherry, sage and toffee that are classic to this vineyard site. Mouth watering flavors of cherries, strawberry, root beer, rose petal and toasted vanilla beans give way to the balanced acidity. The prosperous textural mouthfeel helps to carry the rich and round tannins that follow through long into the finish.
—Director of Winemaking Bob Cabral
THE VINEYARDS
100% Estate Vista Verde Vineyard, located a couple miles south-east of Hollister, California, near the small town of Tres Pinos in San Benito County. This heavy limestone vineyard is separated into nine blocks that include clones such as Pommard, Calera, Canada, 667, Mt. Eden, and Swan.
HARVEST 2011
The 2011 vintage was marked by another cool year that produced wines with tremendous purity and depth. Similar in many ways to 2010 – without the extremes - it had very low yields and below average cooler weather. But, the growing season in 2011 was much more consistent with gentle warming days and very cold summer nights. As a consequence, the vintage produced wines with incredible purity, remarkable acid and tannin balance, while expressing the uniqueness of each individual site and region. The signature of this vintage is one where the wines have bright fruit qualities, sound acidities and elegant tannin profiles. It is truly a vintage worth seeking.
TECHNICAL NOTES
Barrel Description: 35% new, 33% 1 year old, 32% 2 year old Barrel Aged: 10 months
pH: 3.60
TA: 0.63g/100ml
Alc: 14.1%
Released Spring 2013