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From what far-flung, telic appellation might be dispatched a white cigar? Le Cigare Blanc is the white
analogue of Le Cigare Volant, our homage to the complex blended wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This
iteration is dominated—in strictly the proportional sense—by roussanne, to the tune of 72.4% of the overall blend. The roussanne seems to contribute a real sense of minerality to the wine. We have supplemented the roussanne with a significant fraction of grenache blanc—which adds tannic structure and an unmistakable peachiness—and a homeopathic dose of marsanne for the je ne sais quoi. The wine is intensely suggestive of white peach, honeydew, lime blossom, lilac and the stony gout des minéraux, contributed by an exceedingly far-off hillside. Resistance is futile.
2003 was the first year we felt our roussanne and grenache blanc showed high enough quality to deserve the Cigare label. In 2004 the grapes once again displayed exceptional quality. The blend this year is 73% roussanne and 27% grenache blanc. All of the fruit is grown in the Central Coast viticultural area with 70% from the Beeswax vineyard in Arroyo Seco.
The grapes are hand picked into half ton bins and trucked up to our Santa Cruz facility where they are
not destemmed, but pressed as whole clusters. We are able, if we wish, to extract more phenolics when
we press the grapes as whole clusters which yields a richer more complex wine. Once the juice has settled, we rack the clean juice to a stainless steel tank and add an aromatic yeast strain to carry out the fermentation. The grape varieties are fermented separately so we can make the ideal blend once the wines have completed fermentation.
Once the blend was made, we added back the fluffy lees and performed batonage in a stainless steel
tank. We were able to store the wine without any sulfur by stirring the lees three times a week. The
lees contribute to the wine in several ways. They act as an antioxidant by absorbing any oxygen in
the wine, keeping the wine fresh. As the yeast cells in the lees lyse (break open), they release molecules which enhance the mouthfeel of the wine. Our 2004 Cigare Blanc has the velvety texture of a barrel fermented wine without the overpowering oak aromas. The wine completed 90% of malo-lactic fermentation. However, the lees stirring absorbs the diacetyl (butter) flavor, allowing the wine to show its minerality.
We fined the wine with homeopathic amounts of skim milk and isinglass to polish the peripheral texture of the wine. The
analogue of Le Cigare Volant, our homage to the complex blended wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This
iteration is dominated—in strictly the proportional sense—by roussanne, to the tune of 72.4% of the overall blend. The roussanne seems to contribute a real sense of minerality to the wine. We have supplemented the roussanne with a significant fraction of grenache blanc—which adds tannic structure and an unmistakable peachiness—and a homeopathic dose of marsanne for the je ne sais quoi. The wine is intensely suggestive of white peach, honeydew, lime blossom, lilac and the stony gout des minéraux, contributed by an exceedingly far-off hillside. Resistance is futile.
2003 was the first year we felt our roussanne and grenache blanc showed high enough quality to deserve the Cigare label. In 2004 the grapes once again displayed exceptional quality. The blend this year is 73% roussanne and 27% grenache blanc. All of the fruit is grown in the Central Coast viticultural area with 70% from the Beeswax vineyard in Arroyo Seco.
The grapes are hand picked into half ton bins and trucked up to our Santa Cruz facility where they are
not destemmed, but pressed as whole clusters. We are able, if we wish, to extract more phenolics when
we press the grapes as whole clusters which yields a richer more complex wine. Once the juice has settled, we rack the clean juice to a stainless steel tank and add an aromatic yeast strain to carry out the fermentation. The grape varieties are fermented separately so we can make the ideal blend once the wines have completed fermentation.
Once the blend was made, we added back the fluffy lees and performed batonage in a stainless steel
tank. We were able to store the wine without any sulfur by stirring the lees three times a week. The
lees contribute to the wine in several ways. They act as an antioxidant by absorbing any oxygen in
the wine, keeping the wine fresh. As the yeast cells in the lees lyse (break open), they release molecules which enhance the mouthfeel of the wine. Our 2004 Cigare Blanc has the velvety texture of a barrel fermented wine without the overpowering oak aromas. The wine completed 90% of malo-lactic fermentation. However, the lees stirring absorbs the diacetyl (butter) flavor, allowing the wine to show its minerality.
We fined the wine with homeopathic amounts of skim milk and isinglass to polish the peripheral texture of the wine. The