Varietal
The Sangiovese grape is an ancient varietal indigenous to the Tuscany region of Italy. It is Italy’s most planted grape variety and the base for Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and most of the Super Tuscans. With the advent of Super Tuscan popularity in California in the late 80’s and early 90’s, plantings of Sangiovese have increased substantially. Sangiovese is known for its strong tannins and sturdy structure.

Vintage
The amount of rainfall, though early, was normal. Dry weather reigned from March, the warmest March on record, to October. The warm weather jump-started the growing season, making farmers nervous (more much time for things to go badly). Things did cool down for spring extending bloom. Periods of long bloom affect uniformity in reds causing a potential of uneven ripening within an individual grape cluster. In our vineyards, we ‘green drop’ to balance the crop and eliminate late ripening fruit at the end of verasion. Summer was moderate without any heat waves; but it was humid raising concerns of mildew. By the end of July it was evident that an early harvest was upon us. We began picking our Sauvignon Blanc on August 13th, the earliest ever, and had brought in about 15% of the total crop by the end of August when it got hot and dry. High temperatures are not unusual in late summer and early fall but humidity under 20% is very unusual. In fact the average low humidity over the previous five years didn’t go below 30%. Extended periods of hot, dry weather are difficult for a grapevine to endure. With almost two weeks of 10 - 20% humidity in late August and September, mildew was now the least of concerns! Grape sugar was soaring before flavors had matured; our growers did a great job sustaining vineyards until flavors developed. By the end of September we were evaluating an outstanding vintage. 2004 is a vintage of ripe and well-developed flavors with the best overall quality in years.

Vinification
Fermented individually in a small stainless steel fermentor for 11 days. The high skin to juice ratio allowed us to extract maximum flavor from the grapes, while managing good tannin levels. The wine was aged for 18 months in new and older French oak barrels and bottled on May 4, 2006. Alcohol 14.6%, Total acidity .61, pH 3.63.

Tasting Notes
Most Sangioveses produced in California’s coastal districts are closer in style to Italian versions made in the Montalcino zone or on the Maremma coast than those made in Chianti (that is, they are firmer, somewhat richer wines--like this one). It is a supple, full-bodied, ripely flavored wine, that is moderately rich, and long on the finish. It tastes of plum, black cherry, toast, oak, and tobacco. Enjoy with coq au vin (chicken and wine casserole), barbecued pork, and beef stew.

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