Vintage and Winemaker’s Notes: Deep ruby, with intense dark fruit aromas of blackberry, plum, black cherry, and currant. Bright fruit aromas mingled with sweet oak, dark chocolate, slight clove, cinnamon, and black pepper. Great blackberry flavors evolve on a bed of balanced acidity and moderate tannins, yielding a long pleasant finish. Growing Season Notes: A cool spring made for a late start on the growing season. Several heat spikes in June and July kick-started ripening. Two brief and rare read more...Vintage and Winemaker’s Notes: Deep ruby, with intense dark fruit aromas of blackberry, plum, black cherry, and currant. Bright fruit aromas mingled with sweet oak, dark chocolate, slight clove, cinnamon, and black pepper. Great blackberry flavors evolve on a bed of balanced acidity and moderate tannins, yielding a long pleasant finish. Growing Season Notes: A cool spring made for a late start on the growing season. Several heat spikes in June and July kick-started ripening. Two brief and rare thunderstorms in August and early September kept things lively until the first reds started arriving after riding out a September heat wave. Overall yield was down about 25%, and harvest slightly later than average. Statistics: # Varietal Composition: 77.7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.0% Syrah, 8.8% Merlot, 5.3% Petite Verdot, 2.3 % Cabernet Franc., 2.9% Petite Sirah # Vineyards: 16 % Red Barn (Rutherford), 8 % Sycamore Vineyard (Rutherford), 30% Bosche Vineyard (Rutherford), 16 % Shifflett Vineyard (Oak Knoll), 4% Ahern Vineyard (St. Helena), 2% Usibelli Vineyard (Pope Valley), 3% Carpy Ranch (Rutherford), 17% Wood Ranch (Rutherford), 4 % Calistoga Vyd (Calistoga) # Fermentation: Open and closed-top stainless steel fermenters 9-12 days at 73-88◦ F with 6-8 days skin contact. # Aging: 24 months in 60-gallon French oak barrels # Alcohol: 14.1% # pH: 3.62 # Acid: 0.64 g/100 mL (hide)