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2009 Wines

Vintage Notes

We started the year with another very dry winter; the Paso Robles Airport receiving less than seven inches of rain for the entire rainy season, from July 2008 to June 2009. Winter irrigation was therefore necessary to fill in the soil profiles, allowing the vines a healthy start into bloom and the growing season.

Bud break was early and we had a few stressing nights keeping frost at bay in April. The summer weather however was quite normal and provided good to excellent growing conditions. Some high temperatures above the 100°F level created challenges during late August and into September. While we need warm weather to ripen the fruit, excessive heat is not desired and can have a negative impact on the ripening process and flavor profiles. Fortunately, we stayed on top of our irrigations and provided the much needed relief for our heat stressed vines.

Harvest started on September third with the Verdelho from our Huerhuero Vineyard. Followed by Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier then Vermentino, the ingredients for our White4 blend were stunning. The Verdelho turned out exceptional, with unique characteristics that warranted an individual bottling. 235 cases were made of this very special white wine from 2009.

Our next fruit to come in was Syrah from the Camatta Hills Vineyard. Followed by Petite Sirah from our Creston Vineyard and shortly thereafter Petit Verdot from Huerhuero, things were starting to become hectic. Blocks were picked one after another and did not slow until mid October. We were fortunate to have the majority of our fruit in when heavy rainstorms hit the region on October thirteenth. We completed harvest on October 21st with Mourvedre, a variety which is used as a blending partner for our Red4.

The 2009 vintage turned out excellent for our white wines and very good for the red varieties. The red lots used in our Cuvée Collection blends, such as Petite Sirah, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon have very good potential to become remarkable or even extraordinary wines. Overall wines with character and distinction mark this vintage as a collectable. Our whites drink nicely with fresh acidity and tropical characteristics, and the ripe tannins expressed in our high end red wines will cellar for many years with confidence.