Bud Break
Last week in March

Bloom
Most completed May 20-24th

Veraison
65% - 95% as of August 9th

Yields – Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Acres Tons Tons/Acre
79.81 162.01 2.03

Vintage Weather
Crop yields were down due to the combination of early frost damage and the shatter caused by heat during bloom at the end of May. Thankfully, the quality was excellent. The last half of March warmed up nicely and we saw lots of buds popping up. However, April turned out to be our coldest month, with two cold storms, 6 days of frost protection and several more days of frost alerts. This was followed by a rather warm May, including consecutive days of 104° and 103°, causing some shatter in two of our biggest Cabernet Sauvignon blocks. Overall temperatures through the rest of the season were pretty mild with no extended heat spells. The mild weather allowed us to attain full maturity without excessive ripeness. Total rainfall for the year from November `00 through October `01 was well below average at 26.1”.

Harvest
We had forecast harvest to begin early because of the early bud break and a warm May. However, moderate weather during August and September slowed the ripening, resulting in a normal harvest time frame September 4th to October 12th. This year we began night picking with lights in some of the Cabernet Sauvignon blocks. It worked out very well, with much higher fruit integrity and cooler temperatures, resulting in cleaner fruit with less stem breakage and a greater concentration of pure fruit flavors. All the signs of full physiological maturity were evident, including nice brown seeds, loads of ripe fruit flavors, fully mature skin tannin, and deep color in the wine from the very first day.

The Wine
The ideal ripening period allowed us to pick each block at perfect physiological maturity. The resulting wine has classic aromas of cedar, earth, black olive, blackberries and cassis. The flavors are very rich, fat and ripe, very well-balanced with bright and voluptuous tannins. The finish is very lengthy and full with dense, sweet texture. This is a full wine.