Vintage          

2000 was the third consecutive cool vintage for Southern Sonoma Valley vineyards.  The growing season included cool weather and some rain during early bloom, followed by a heat spike in mid-June and cool, rainy weather during harvest. 

Vineyard

Sourced primarily from the Rhinefarm Vineyard, the Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with a small portion of Merlot from the Estate and the Desnudos Vineyard, located 700 feet above the valley in theMayacamasMountains.  The T-bud block from theLa Pazsection of the estate vineyard makes up the lion's share of the blend. Planted in 1976, these vines yield black-fruited wines with great structure and dimension.

Winemaking

Harvest was conducted in the early morning hours to ensure low grape temperatures on delivery to the winery. Grapes were gently destemmed, crushed, and moved to 15-ton tanks for primary fermentation, with each lot fermented and aged separately.  The wines received a gentle, twice-daily pumpover, with daily tastings to observe tannin resolution and wine development; several lots underwent 14 days of extended maceration to soften tannins.  Sixteen months’ aging in 56% new medium-toast French (91%) and American (9%) oak barrels contributed complex mocha, toast, and spice notes to the dark fruit character of the wine.  The unfined wine was lightly filtered before bottling.