Varietal
Tempranillo is a native of Spain and is a major red wine grape in the Ribera del Duero and the Rioja Alta. In Portugal's Douro Valley it is used as a key blending grape in Port. Tempranillo’s aromas and flavors are reminscent of berry fruit, herbaceousness, and an earthy-leathery minerality. It is frequently blended with Grenache, Carignan and lately Cabernet Sauvignon.

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. 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
The grapes were cold soaked prior to fermentation in small open top fermentors. The grapes were punched down by hand to maintain a delicate balance between flavors, color and tannins. The wine spent 17 months in French oak before being bottled in June 2006. Alcohol 14.5%, TA .61, pH 3.76.

Tasting Notes
With character traits of dark, lush blackberry and a hint of minerality this complex wine is ideally suited for pairing with spring lamb, hearty stews and your favorite poultry dishes.

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