The Cuvee
As a winegrower I am interested primarily in growing the best possible fruit we can to achieve world-class wines. To that end we are highly selective in the barrels that make the final cut for the vineyard-designated wines. We are also concerned that the high cost of farming to these small yields is matched by the high quality of the wines we release. This way of thinking has provided us with an opportunity to create a village wine that is offered at a price that will appeal to many. This inaugural release of the Santa Maria Valley, selected from one of our Grand cru vineyards and two of our premier cru vineyards, is the result of this strict approval of barrels into the vineyard-designated program. The cuvee is comprised of 12 barrels from Dierberg Vineyard, 4 barrels of Rio Vista Vineyard and 2 barrels of Gold Coast Vineyard Pinot Noir.

The Harvest
Vintage 2003 was Santa Maria Valley’s warmest growing season on record, and one of its earliest harvests ever. Unseasonably warm winter temperatures triggered bud break in late January, nearly a month ahead of schedule. Rainfall, which usually tapers off in March, continued into May, promoting good, natural moisture in the soil and kept fruit from dehydrating later in the summer. Initially, yields looked average to above average for Pinot Noir, but rain, wind and cool weather in the May bloom period caused poor fruit set in some clusters, thereby lessening yields. Cluster weights were low and berry size was small, resulting in intense flavors and concentration.

Yields were off slightly at 35 hectoliters per hectare which for a village wine is extremely low. This is the third crop produced from Dierberg vineyard for us and the first time I could visually see the evolution of what now has become a foregone conclusion: This is a truly great site.

Gold Coast on the other hand continues to show its maturity with continually darker colored fruit despite the higher pH. Its contribution to the cuvee is its extremely silky texture and compelling flavor profile.

The Production
My fascination with the great wines of Burgundy has taken me down the path of artisan style winemaking. Choosing to rely not only on modern science but my own gut instinct as to how to allow the fruit to develop into the wine that Mother Nature had intended. I have listened to and emulated those Burgundian artisans I most admired, employing their traditional techniques to bring forth the uniqueness of these particular rows within these two vineyards.

The grapes undergo a tremendous amount of triage (sorting) both in the vineyard and in the cellar. I consider this to be one of the most significant practices we employ. We can truly say only the best grapes go into our fermenters. Once they are received into the cellar we subject them to another sorting on the table and then into the fermenters. This whole cluster fermentation technique we believe contributes significantly to the aromatics and texture of our wines. It is the gentlest manipulation of Pinot Noir grapes possible. Once in the fermenters we cover the cap in dry ice to arrest any spontaneous fermentation that may occur. We prefer a pre fermentation maceration (cold-soaking) allowing the color and flavor to be extracted in the absence of fermentation for two or three days. During this time we pigeage (foot tread) twice a day increasing to five times a day at peak fermentation. The wine is usually pressed of at 1 or 2 brix into François Freres barrels from the Allier forest in the center of France. The wine remained in barrel for 22 months without racking and will be bottled without fining or filtration. This wine received an additional 3 months of bottle ageing before release.