After a cool wet spring, the weather warmed in June to great vine growth and healthy but late fruit set. Some heat in July ensured strong phenolic synthesis and mouthfeel development. Consistently dry weather with our characteristic warm days and cool nights from August to October allowed for long hang time and wines with excellent energy, weight, and intensity.
Marsanne and Roussanne are inherently complimentary varieties, with Marsanne providing an impressive amount of round weighty mouthfeel, and Roussanne supplying welcome energy from tannins and acid. Kept separate, both varieties are picked by hand, pressed slowly, and fermented in barrel and kept on lees without yeast or sulfur addition until preparation for bottling.
