| Vintage: | 2006 |
| Varietal: | Mourvèdre |
| Appellation: | Contra Costa County |
| Harvest Date: | October 5 |
| Acid: | .70 g/100ml |
| PH: | 3.66 |
| Residual Sugar: | 9.5% |
| Alcohol %: | 13.5% |
Vineyard Notes:
The Big Break ancient vineyard was chosen for the 2006 Late Harvest Mourvèdre. It’s planted in deep sandy soil, is dry-farmed and benefits from the drying winds that blow through Contra Costa County. The vineyard carried a light crop of grapes that ripened and dehydrated without rotting to a high sugar content. By the time the grapes arrived at the winery the lot was 25% raisiny.
Production Notes:
Working with ultra ripe and raisiny fruit to make this delicious wine had its challenges. The yield of concentrated grape juice was about half of what we attained from the grapes we used to make our Mourvèdre table wines.
The must began to ferment after three days in the tank. We choose not to add yeast to the tank instead we allow natural yeast to do the work. This age old tradition, of Fred Cline’s grandfather, contributes complexity to the blend. Fermentation progressed and in a matter of three weeks the combination of alcohol and sugar caused the fermentation to draw to a close.
We racked the wine to French oak barrels using only 25% new oak so as to allow the flavors show through without being masked by the oak.
Winemaker Notes:
We will bottle and release this wine only when we feel the vintage quality is extremely high. In addition to being luxuriously sweet the wine has flavors of coffee, chocolate and berries. It will age for decades and it is a wonderful accompaniment to desserts of all types.