About This Wine

On the nose: touches of cedar, cherries, roast beef, rose candies lingering on violets, cranberries, strawberries

On the palate: soft velvety entrance evolving on fresh picked boysenberry, red cherry

Wine Profile

Blend:  100% Pinot Noir

Fermentation: 100% stainless steel

Aging: 10 months in 60% new French oak

Winemaker Notes:

2014 was a dream vintage, with quality along the lines of 2012 and 2013.  Everything ripened in early- to mid-August, including Cabernet Sauvignon, which usually ripens much later.  Napa Valley's harvest was unusually early, not surprising given the state’s ongoing drought, which was so extreme that the cover crops in many vineyards never took hold. Substantial rain in late February and early March relieved most of the stress and set the vines up for a vigorous start. "Early" was the key word all season, from budbreak to veraison to harvest.

The vintage proved to be a balance between 2012 and 2013. We had some heat spikes that delayed the phenolic ripeness and forced us to push extraction. The ripeness was there, but the color and tannins took time to come out. Our 2014 red wines are powerful but with great structure. Patience was the key to this vintage.