Vineyard

2001 was the year of extremes: Winter brought freezing temperatures and several days of snow; the cold continued during Spring with five days of frost. Fortunately only a few vines suffered damage. Record-setting temperatures (110° F) in early June scorched some vines, so we removed the grapes to help those vines recover. A mild Summer of cool nights and warm days ripened the Cabernet slowly. Harvest began on September 17th.

Cellar

To produce this red wine, we fermented the juice with the skins to extract their color and flavor. CO₂  gas (a by-product of fermentation) bubbled up through the skins causing them to float to the top and form the “cap”. To ensure thorough color and flavor extraction, we pumped the juice from the bottom of the tank and sprinkled it over the cap throughout fermentation.

Following the Bordeaux tradition of extended maceration, the wine stayed on the skins for another two weeks to soften the young tannins. We then moved the Cabernet into our wine caves where it was aged in French (80%) and American (20%) oak barrels. During its first Winter, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation which lowered its acidity and added richness. In its second year, this Cabernet was aged in both oak barrels and tanks. After many blending trials, we added 6% Petit Verdot and 8% Malbec to this Cabernet. Although they are difficult to discern, we believe their addition was successful because they added depth and richness to the wine. It was bottled in August 2003.

Drinkability

At our Annual Vertical Tasting in May 2020, we tasted the 2001 and here are our notes: Plums, dried cherries, carpaccio, nutmeg, mint, porchini mushrooms, forest floor, licorice, Niçoise olives. Supple mid-palate, long dark chocolate finish.

At Harvest:

23.9 ° Brix sugar
0.69 g/100 mls acidity
3.69 pH

At Bottling:

13.2% alcohol
0.57 g/100 mls acidity
3.73 pH