VARIETAL & VINEYARD:  This wine is 65% Grenache and 35% Mourvedre from our vineyards planted in 1998 to Grenache Noir clones purchased from Tablas Creek and Alban Vineyards.  These clones, selected from Chateauneuf du Pape, give darker color and better structure than the majority of Grenache planted in California.  Our vines are planted on low-vigor rootstock in 4’x 6’ spacing.

VINTAGE/HARVEST:  2006 was an excellent vintage for both Grenache and Mourvedre.  It was one of our longest and coolest growing seasons.  We normally reduce the crop 50 to 60%, limiting yield to 6 pounds per vine, to facilitate concentrated flavors.  The reduced crop also allowed us to harvest Grenache and Mourvedre in late October at full ripeness giving us more Rhone-like flavors of raspberry jam, tar, and black pepper.  It also means this is a full-bodied Rosé.

VINIFICATION:  Our main method of obtaining Grenache and Mourvedre juice for our Rosé was done through saignee or bleeding juice from the tank of red must immediately after crushing.  We also pressed a small amount of Mourvedre directly after crushing.  In order to make bone-dry Rosé we feel it is important to have a short skin contact time to minimize tannins.  The wine is fermented completely dry, and kept five months in a stainless steel tank until bottling.  The malo-lactic fermentation was stopped half-way to preserve the natural fresh acidity, which was higher than normal in 2006 due to the cool growing season.

STYLE/DESCRIPTION:  If you’ve been to the South of France you already know what this wine is all about.  A floral and fruity nose leads to a rich and full-bodied wine that can handle a much wider variety of foods than your average white wine.  The Mourvedre, which did particularly well in 2006, really gives this wine a spicy, rich complexity, making it a great food wine.
                                                                                                            Mick

4 2 0 2   D r y   C r e e k   R o a d  -  H e a l d s b u r g  C A  9 5 4 4 8          -         t e l  7 0 7 -  4 3 3 - 5 5 9 0  /  f a x   7 0 7  -  4 3 3 - 5 5 9 1

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