AN EXCLUSIVE OFFERING Existing Club Members Join Now Founders Reserve defines rare, limited production offerings available only for a select few. With each vintage, five special barrels are set aside after special consideration and evaluation. While sourcing may change season to season, in most years the wine traces back to a single block of an exceptional vineyard. Founders Reserve is the hallmark of the vintage read more...AN EXCLUSIVE OFFERING Existing Club Members Join Now Founders Reserve defines rare, limited production offerings available only for a select few. With each vintage, five special barrels are set aside after special consideration and evaluation. While sourcing may change season to season, in most years the wine traces back to a single block of an exceptional vineyard. Founders Reserve is the hallmark of the vintage, the one wine that stands alone, offering a clear and unequivocal statement that will stand the test of time. THE VINTAGE SELECTION Block A/B of the famed Cutrer Vineyard, first planted in 1972, has often been the focus of Founders Reserve, and no wonder. On a slightly raised knoll with a gentle slope to the South, vines that have watched three decades pass in the Russian River Valley are fully mature, offering in this vintage a scant 1.5 tons per acre of exceptional fruit. Each year these vines, planted with the well proven Clone 4 in a sandy clay loam called Wilson Grove, form the backbone of the Cutrer blend. The well drained soil is geologically characterized as old Merced Sea Bottom, with layers of decomposing fossilized sea shells. The Pacific Ocean lies just beyond the hills, bringing frequent morning fog to caress the grapes, even as the steady afternoon breezes chase the fog away. (hide)