Vineyard & Winemaking
A long cool spring in 2010 resulted in a short crop which naturally balanced our vines at Skellenger Vineyard in Oakville, Napa. We ended up with 40% less fruit than a typical vintage at this vineyard. Less fruit accompanied with a longer growing season allowed for slow developing, but intense and concentrated flavors. We loved the intense, spicy aromatics in the grape skins this year and decided to cold soak our juice on the skins an extra day, a total of 48 hours at 50*F in tank. All the wine movements were completed in a reductive style, minimizing oxygen contact with the fruit and wine in order to preserve varietal aromatics and flavors. After pressing and racking, the wine saw a slow 25 day fermentation at 48*F. Now aging in 20% new French Oak, we were adding Marcel Cadet with our Remond barrels for aging. Each barrel is lees stirred once a week to soften and integrate the wine with the barrel. We have the luxury of bottling this wine without filtration or fining and with minimal stabilization.