2005 Tempranillo.

Release date
October 2007 sold out

Winemaker's tasting notes
An elegant, full-bodied wine with charming black fruit flavors of sweet black cherries, blackberries and mission figs. It has excellent depth and intense flavors of dark chocolate, candied orange peel, and hints of cinnamon with a vanilla, licorice and mocha finish. Dense, ripe tannins and a creamy mouthfeel. Delicious now and with potential for ageing.

Wine and food pairing
Pairs well with Mediterranean cuisine and is an elegant complement to all varieties of white meat, grilled or roasted, as well as traditional Tapas and Spanish Serrano ham and Manchego cheese.

Grape source
This wine was produced from grapes grown in the Diamond Mine Vineyards on Six Sigma Ranch. The grapes were handpicked just after sunrise in late September 2005 and gently brought to the winery in custom-made 35 lb picking bins.

Vinification
The grapes were destemmed and hand-sorted on state-of-the-art sorting tables. The berries were gently crushed prior to cold-soaking for five days at 40°F. The must fermented in temperature-controlled five-ton fermenters for 12 days with pump-overs twice a day. Following the alcoholic fermentation and a 12-day extended maceration, the wine aged in 100% French oak barrels for 18 months. Malolactic fermentation took place in the barrels. The wine was neither fined nor filtered prior to bottling.

Technical notes
100% Lake County appellation
100% Tempranillo
Ageing: 18 months in new French oak barrels
Alcohol 14.3%
TA (g/100ml): 0.57
pH: 4.1
Production: 296 cases

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