With some elevation and a steep hillside location, our French clonal varietals are poised to produce the highest quality fruit consisting of small berries with intense flavors. Meticulously farmed with organic sustainability throughout the Pope Valley season of hot, sunny, dry days and surprisingly chilly nights, we harvest our grapes by hand in the dark morning hours to bring cold fruit into the winery.
We sort the clusters to ensure we have only perfectly ripe clusters, free of leaves or impurities. We additionally sort the berries themselves after de-stemming. We will allow for a cold soak on the fruit’s own skin and juices for up to 5 days prior to fermentation to guarantee excellent early fruit and flavor extraction.
Once fermentation begins, we employ a variety of pump over and cap management techniques to maximize extraction while maintaining finesse. Post-fermentation, the wine is moved to the barrel, about 70% new French oak. Malolactic fermentation takes place in the barrel. We periodically rack and make blending adjustments as the wine ages, about 22 months prior to bottling.
There are no set formulas for winemaking. Each growing season is different and each vintage is unique. We taste daily and always do what is best for the wine. Our family takes pride in each and every step of wine-growing and winemaking. We hope you will notice the difference!