.....

2006 Estate Chardonnay, Reserva Dorada

Gold Coast Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley

Reserva Dorada is our ultimate expression of chardonnay. It comes from the same grapes as our Estate Chardonnay but the treatment in the cellar is different. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed, the juice is cold settled overnight, and then put into Francois Freres French oak (50% new) for fermentation. At this point no yeast are introduced, only Native Yeasts are allowed to ferment the juice. This results in better texture and richer mouthfeel in the finished wine. The wine is allowed to go through malolactic, on it’s lees, and aged for 12 months before racking, assembling a blend, and returning the wine to barrel for an additional 4 months aging (total time in barrel 16 months). The wine was then bottled, unfiltered, in February 2008. 150 case produced.

The wine displays rich aromatics of spiced pear, vanilla, and barrel toast. The palate is impressively rich with flavors of baked apple, buttercream, lemon zest, and mineral. Classic Central Coast acidity holds the wine together, finishing long and full with citrus and pear notes.

In 2006, we had a very small crop at Gold Coast Vineyard. Our Chardonnay produced 1.3 tons per acre and the resulting wine is intense in its aromatics, flavor, and texture. As always, we whole-cluster pressed the harvested grapes and put the juice into Francois Freres French oak barrels (25% new) for fermentation. Malolactic was allowed in barrel, and the wine aged sur lie (on its sediment or “lees”) for 10 months before racking and the blend assembled. The wine was lightly fined and cold stabilized before returning to barrel for an additional 2 months (total barrel aging 12 months). Bottled in early September 2007. 1000 cases produced.

The wine is a rich yellow/gold in color, with aromatics of pears, nutmeg, barrel toast, and ocean mist. Rich in texture, the flavors include spiced apple, pear, and vanilla bean. The wine finishes with a burst of pineapple, citrus and mineral flavors, balanced with good acidity.

Our 2006 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is a blend of 3 vineyards in the county; Kick-On Vineyard in Los Alamos, Solomon Hills Vineyard in Santa Maria, and Fiddlestix Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. Each lot was destemmed and put into a 1.5 ton fermenter. A cold soak lasted for 3-6 days depending on the lot and then each lot was inoculated with Assmanshausen yeast. Manual punch downs, twice a day, were carried out during fermentation, and the wine was pressed to barrel at dryness. Francois Freres French oak was used for aging (20% new). After 8 months in barrel, a blend was assembled and returned to barrel for an additional 3 months aging (11 months total time in barrel). The wine was bottled, unfiltered, in August of 2007. 1500 cases produced.

This is a very pretty Pinot Noir with great aromatics of strawberry, sandalwood, earth, and potpourri. The mouth is soft and approachable with melded berry/cherry notes and hard spices (cardamom, black pepper), along with orange peel and cola. The finish is smooth with more berries and classic earth tones.

The 2006 pinot noir harvest at Gold Coast Vineyard yielded 1 ton per acre (a very small crop). As always, we harvest the vineyard in many small lots, with each lot being fermented and aged separately. In ’06, we had 8 lots of the original Martini clone and 1 lot each of 115 and 777. The first pick starts around 23.5 degrees Brix and the last pick is around 25.5 degrees Brix. Picked this way, over a 2-3 week period of time, each lot brings something different in the overall blend - early picks are bright with dusty, earthy strawberry; late picks are raspberry, black cherry with bigger weight and extract. This allows the wine to be more complete, layered and complex.

Each lot of grapes was destemmed and put into 1.5 ton fermenters. After a 4-6 day cold soak, each fermenter was inoculated with Assmanshausen yeast. Manual punch downs were done twice daily. Once fermentation finished, the wine and skins were pressed to Francois Freres French oak barrels (30% new) and allowed to go through malolactic. After 10 months aging, the wine was racked and a blend assembled. After returning to barrel, the wine was lightly egg-white fined and allowed to settle and age an additional 2 months (total aging 12 months) before bottling unfiltered. 2,000 cases produced.

The resulting wine in 2006 is darker and with more firmness due to the small crop. Aromas of black raspberry, cherry, hard spices, and nori. Flavors include red berries, orange rind, pepper, and smoke. The wine finishes with firm structure and flavors of red fruits, citrus, and barrel toast.

Reserva Oro Rojo is our barrel selection Pinot Noir. The idea is that this is the “Best of the Best”. We pick our vineyard multiple times during the harvest, pulling fruit off the vine at different levels of ripeness. These lots are fermented and aged separately, allowing each to express itself uniquely. Once blended, we feel the wine is more complete and layered. Each year, certain lots will stand out as truly special, ead and shoulders above the rest. A selection of these lots will be pulled aside, aged longer, and will become our Reserva Oro Rojo. In 2006, we have used the barrels from the 4th and 7th picks of the Martini clone and 1 barrel of a blend of Dijon clones 115 & 777. Each lot was destemmed, cold soaked, and fermented in 1.5 ton fermenters, with manual punch downs twice a day. After fermentation, the wine was pressed to Francois Freres French oak barrels (50% new) and allowed to go through malolactic in barrel. After 12 months aging, the wine was racked, a blend assembled, and returned to barrel for an additional 4 months aging. Bottled, unfiltered in February 2008. 250 cases produced.

The wine has complex aromas of dark berries, white pepper, earth tones. The flavors have classic Santa Maria loam, spingth and bright cherry/earth notes.

The grapes for our Sauvignon Blanc come from the Roblar Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. This corridor is the premier area for Sauvignon Blanc in Santa Barbara County. My idea is to pick the grapes early and capture the grapes vibrant fruit and mineral qualities. The grapes were harvested at 23 degrees Brix and fermented in stainless steel at 50 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve the fruit. Once fermentation finished, the wine was sulfured to block malolactic and moved to neutral (older) Francois Freres French oak barrels for aging. After 8 months of aging, the wine was sterile filtered and bottled in July of 2007.

The resulting wine is bright and fresh with white peaches, grapefruit, and earth/mineral notes. On the palate, flavors of peach and lemon/lime persist, along with a spicy lees quality. The lingering finish and acidity leaves you with a sense of wanting more! 300 cases produced.

This wine is a blend of 47% Tempranillo, 40% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Petite Sirah. The idea behind our Vintage Red is to produce an excellent Table Wine and a great value. The grapes come from a variety of AVA’s: the Tempranillo is from Laetitia Vineyard in Arroyo Grande, the Syrah comes from 2 vineyards – French Camp in Paso Robles and Colson Canyon in the Santa Maria Valley, the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Petite Sirah are both from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard in Cuyama (Santa Barbara County).

Each varietal adds a different component to the wine. The Tempranillo adds a dusty, earthy cherry component, as well as firm structure. The Syrah is darker fruited, with plum and roasted coffee notes, and plush texture in the mouth. The Cabernet and Petit Sirah give the wine weight, body, and color, as well as adding to the overall tannin and structure. Each lot was destemmed and fermented separately in open-top fermenters. All were allowed a cold soak of 4-6 days before yeast was introduced and each was pressed to barrel and aged separately after fermentation. Full malolactic occurred in barrel prior to blending and the blend was assembled after 11 months aging. The wine was bottled in September 2007, unfiltered. 700 cases produced.

The wine is a deep purple with roasted plum, coffee, and cherry notes in the nose. In the mouth, the wine has dusty/rustic note with layers of fruit and good structure. Excellent texture and balance throughout the wine to a full finish.

Our 2005 Late Harvest Pinot Blanc is a classic version of botrytized wine. 2005 was a high pressure year for botrytis and at Bien Nacido Vineyard a small section of the Pinot Blanc was allowed to grow the botrytis mold (as well as any other mold or mildew) by discontinuing the fungicidal program. Overhead sprinklers were also used to increase the humidity in the vineyard, thus encouraging mold growth. At harvest, careful hand selection of the botrytis mold was carried out to separate it from unwanted black molds and mildew. The grapes were then crushed and soaked overnight to achieve a sugar of 46 degrees Brix. The grapes were then pressed and the juice put into tank for fermentation. The fermentation stopped naturally at 11% alcohol with a residual sugar of 27 degrees Brix. The wine was sulfured and aged in tank for 18 months prior to bottling. 250 cases produced.

This wine has beautiful aromatics of honey, nectarines, peaches, and pear. The mouth is rich but the concentration of acidity keeps the wine from being cloying. The finish is goes on and on with more stone fruit, spice, and honeyed flavors.