The 2008 harvest was another
picture perfect season, reminding us of how blessed we
are to be working where we do. While several of our lower
lying
vineyards were impacted by a rare spring frost which significantly
curtailed yields, most of our sites eschewed the circumstance
with their higher elevations. Just as with 2007, we found
tremendous flavor development and balance at somewhat lower
sugars than prior years prompting us to pick sooner than
in the earlier portion of the decade.
The 2008 wines were offered in two Releases - those in the
2009 Fall Releases are described below. The 2010 Spring Releases
of the 2008 wines are featured in the Current wines
section.
We are happy to present two “new” vineyard sites
this year, and while new to our stable both are certainly
intriguing and quite mature. The first is the fabled Sanford & Benedict
vineyard planted in 1970. Without the pioneering spirit of
Richard Sanford and Michael Benedict our growing area may
have never been initiated and for that we are forever grateful.
The second is Gnesa (pronounced ne-sa) which is a gorgeous
four acre chardonnay vineyard planted by Lee Gnesa in 1996
on his family’s property originally purchased in 1916.
We first gained access to this spectacular fruit in 2007,
all of which was included in our Sta. Rita Hills bottling.
We are proud to represent the Gnesa family name with 2008
and feel very privileged to have assumed the management responsibility
of the vineyard starting January of 2009.
In addition to that farming commitment, our vineyard crew
has been diligently working to nurture our new plantings
at 3-D, Machado and the newly planted Hapgood. We of course
are more intimate than ever with Mount Carmel which continues
to blossom and gain renewed health under the astute guidance
of our vineyard manager, Francisco Ramirez and soil consultant,
Stan Kadota. We can not thank these two gentlemen enough
for their brilliant minds and unwavering discipline and encourage
you to read more about them on our website.
For a printable version of these notes, please click here.
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