Wine Article

One would think that after letting this wine stay in barrel for thirty months that I could have come up with a better name than Red #2 — certainly a failure of imagination on my part.  Happily, I think the wine itself is anything but.  After a heat-wave at the end of August and beginning of September in 2008 was I concerned about relying too heavily on the Bedrock Cabernet, which seemed to possess some jutting tannins.  Since I strongly believe in picking Cabernet at sane sugar levels, and feel that some greenness is part of the varieties natural character, I was not about to hang the fruit to 28 brix to find those “melted” tannins so loved by many Napa counterparts.  Rather, I decided to beef up the amount of Merlot and Petit Verdot in the final wine.  The 9% Petit Verdot was cofermented with the Cabernet, while the Merlot was vinified on its own.  The wine aged in 100% new French oak from Darnajou, Boutes, Bordelaise, and Seguin Moreau for thirty months and was only racked at bottling.  Though still possessing plenty of structure I am pleasantly surprised by this wine — it is remarkably close to the old-school claret-style blend I was hoping for.  Drinking window: 2014-2025. 6 barrels made.