VARIETAL & VINEYARD: This wine is 75% Grenache and 25% Mourvedre from our new 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 4x6 spacing.

VINTAGE/HARVEST: We harvested our grenache between September 28th and October 16th at an average of 27 degree brix. George routinely drops 50 to 60% of the crop, limiting the yield to 6 pounds per vine, which is another important component to growing full-flavored Grenache. Harvesting Grenache at full ripeness give us more Rhone-like flavors of raspberry jam, tar, and black pepper. It also means this is a full-bodied Rose'.

VINIFICATION: The method of obtaining the Grenache and Mourvedre juice for our Rose' was through saignee or bleeding juice from the tank of red must immediately after crushing. In order to make bone-dry Rose' we feel it is important to have a short skin contact to minimize tannins. The wine is fermented completely dry, and kept 5 months in a stainless steel tank until bottling. The malo-lactic fermentation was stopped half-way to preserve the natural fresh acidity.

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.

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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