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The Vineyards
Although we sourced Cabernet Sauvignon throughout the Alexander Valley, each of the vineyards is
grown on gravelly, alluvial soils that perfectly suit Bordeaux varietals. These soils are very well drained and the depress vigor and vegetal flavors in the wine, while increasing concentration and finesse. 36% of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes came from the Lyon Vineyard from the Old Vine block containing Clones # 4 & 6. 22% of the Cabernet Sauvignon came from two vineyards from the Geyserville area, and the remaining 18% of the Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced throughout the appellation.
The Vintage
The 2007 vintage got off to a late start with later bud break for Red Bordeaux varieties. Spring was erratic, making the set normal and delaying the ripening season by two weeks. Summer was mild to moderate with just one heat wave in late July. However, the weather remained foggy and mild from August to late September. Fortunately, the we had summer-like weather in October and we were able to pick ripe, Alexander Valley Merlot and Malbec, followed by Petite Verdot. The Cabernet Sauvignon harvest commenced the last week in October and finished with the Lyon vineyard on November 6th. We were also fortunate to have few rains, and the extra hang time helped to soften the tannins and add more opulence to the blend. Yet, this vintage was devoid of excessive vegetal aromas and flavors.
Winemaking
All lots were crushed and de-stemmed. 2007 was a higher tannic vintage than in the past, necessitating different extraction techniques. Therefore, we did more cold soaking with some pectic enzymes to liberate color. We opted for warm fermentation temperatures, and then pressed earlier than usual to minimize tannin extraction. Finally, we only used free run for our Alexander Valley “select lot” for this blend. We fined the more tannic lots in December thru February in order to selectively remove tannin and without stripping color or aromatics. The lots were then racked into primarily new and one-year-old French Oak barrels Initial assemblage occurred the following Spring with the final assemblage occurring in January 2008. It then went back to barrels with the addition some new American Oak to add sweetness and spice. It was bottled in May 2008 after aging in barrels for 13 months.
Winemaker’s Notes
This offering has typical black cherry and tea-like aromas, indicative of Alexander Valley Cabernet, but with nice shades of vanilla and toasty oak. Although this wine is not as plush or jammy as previous vintages, it has a silky texture with abundant black cherry fruit that makes it quite appealing now. It was crafted to be more elegant than powerful. It finishes soft with complex, earthy soil flavors. This wine is a joy to drink now, but will become more multi faceted aromatically and even more delicious and elegant with additional bottle age.
Appellation: Alexander Valley
Composition: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot 6%Malbec 4% Petite Verdot
Cooperage:13 months in mostly French, some American oak barrels.
Alcohol: 14.2%
TA at Bottling: 0.52 g/100ml
pH: 3.71
Although we sourced Cabernet Sauvignon throughout the Alexander Valley, each of the vineyards is
grown on gravelly, alluvial soils that perfectly suit Bordeaux varietals. These soils are very well drained and the depress vigor and vegetal flavors in the wine, while increasing concentration and finesse. 36% of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes came from the Lyon Vineyard from the Old Vine block containing Clones # 4 & 6. 22% of the Cabernet Sauvignon came from two vineyards from the Geyserville area, and the remaining 18% of the Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced throughout the appellation.
The Vintage
The 2007 vintage got off to a late start with later bud break for Red Bordeaux varieties. Spring was erratic, making the set normal and delaying the ripening season by two weeks. Summer was mild to moderate with just one heat wave in late July. However, the weather remained foggy and mild from August to late September. Fortunately, the we had summer-like weather in October and we were able to pick ripe, Alexander Valley Merlot and Malbec, followed by Petite Verdot. The Cabernet Sauvignon harvest commenced the last week in October and finished with the Lyon vineyard on November 6th. We were also fortunate to have few rains, and the extra hang time helped to soften the tannins and add more opulence to the blend. Yet, this vintage was devoid of excessive vegetal aromas and flavors.
Winemaking
All lots were crushed and de-stemmed. 2007 was a higher tannic vintage than in the past, necessitating different extraction techniques. Therefore, we did more cold soaking with some pectic enzymes to liberate color. We opted for warm fermentation temperatures, and then pressed earlier than usual to minimize tannin extraction. Finally, we only used free run for our Alexander Valley “select lot” for this blend. We fined the more tannic lots in December thru February in order to selectively remove tannin and without stripping color or aromatics. The lots were then racked into primarily new and one-year-old French Oak barrels Initial assemblage occurred the following Spring with the final assemblage occurring in January 2008. It then went back to barrels with the addition some new American Oak to add sweetness and spice. It was bottled in May 2008 after aging in barrels for 13 months.
Winemaker’s Notes
This offering has typical black cherry and tea-like aromas, indicative of Alexander Valley Cabernet, but with nice shades of vanilla and toasty oak. Although this wine is not as plush or jammy as previous vintages, it has a silky texture with abundant black cherry fruit that makes it quite appealing now. It was crafted to be more elegant than powerful. It finishes soft with complex, earthy soil flavors. This wine is a joy to drink now, but will become more multi faceted aromatically and even more delicious and elegant with additional bottle age.
Appellation: Alexander Valley
Composition: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot 6%Malbec 4% Petite Verdot
Cooperage:13 months in mostly French, some American oak barrels.
Alcohol: 14.2%
TA at Bottling: 0.52 g/100ml
pH: 3.71
