Wines
2008 Rousanne/Marsanne - Alder Springs (Mendocino)
Color: Light to Medium Straw.
Aroma: Warm honeysuckle and spice, soft almonds and honey. Hints of citrus, green apple and nuts. SO2 still a little "pungent" at present but this will settle down over the next few months.
Palate: Great mouth feel, weight and entry. Warm alcohol with very tight acid support, lovely length, creamy and complex. Acid little obvious post bottling but is where it should be to carry the wine over the next few years. Bright and firm without being obvious. Soft, supple fruit phenolics (satin and silky) give this wine great body and breadth on the palate. A firm alcohol kick at present means that in 3-6 months this wine should be a absolute "cracker"!!
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon - To Kalon (Oakville)
Color - Very deep, inky and opaque color with a purplish hue.
Aroma - Rich and ripe aromas of blackberries and blackcurrants, integrated with toasty oak and vanillin.
Flavor/Palate - Soft entry, packed with ripe fruit flavors. Good solid mid-palate that picks up sturdy, young tannins; building to a lengthy finish. The complex tannins give the wine the potential to really evolve in the next 16 months.
(preorder now, ships fall 2009)
To Kalon Vineyard Napa Valley
(Oakville) Cabernet Sauvignon
This is the site that started the California cult cab mania. It has produced many legendary wines, including 99 point scores from the beloved Robert Parker. Located in the Oakville American Viticultural Area (AVA), at the base of the Mayacamas Mountain range, To Kalon experiences warm daytime temperatures tempered by the morning and evening fog influence from the Pacific Ocean. This is our oldest vineyard and the fruit is sourced from a block planted with clone 4 in the mid 90's. Consisting mostly of clay loam, it drains well and doesn't retain nutrients well. The effect is natural devigoration that results in smaller, more concentrated clusters of fruit. Wines produced from this site have a phenomenal combination of power and silkiness. This is the Grand Cru vineyard of the new world!
Westerly (McGinley) Vineyard
(Santa Ynez) Roussanne
Westerly Vineyard (now known as McGinley) in located in Santa Ynez's Happy Canyon area. Its warm days are tempered by a cooling maritime influence at night that ensures a long growing season that is perfect for Rhone varietals such as Syrah and Roussanne. The syrah shows a lot of pepper and warmer climate dark fruits while the Roussanne's depth shows why it's the white wine for red wine lovers!
