2007 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate

2007 Santa cruz mountains estate

Varietal Information

bottled May 2009
58% cabernet sauvignon, 42% merlot
13.7% alcohol by volume

History

The Monte Bello vineyard was first planted when the winery was built, in 1886. In the early 1940s, the last of the old vineyard was abandoned; in the late forties a few blocks were replanted. Those cabernet vines - now sixty years old - produced the first Ridge Monte Bello in 1962, and subsequent vintages until the mid-seventies. By then, blocks replanted during the sixties were maturing, and their fruit considered for use in the Monte Bello. A number of those consistently produced a softer, more accessible wine and were combined as the stylistically distinct Santa Cruz Mountains Estate.

Vintage

Harvest Dates: 28 September - 8 November

Grapes: Average Brix 24.4 degrees

Fermentation: Grapes destemmed, 60% full crush, 40% whole berries. Small (1-6 ton capacity) fermentors. Natural yeast fermentation. Pressed at seven days. Natural (uninoculated) malolactic (half in barrel, half in tank).

Selection: Twenty-one of the thirty-six Monte Bello Vineyard parcels make up this Santa Cruz Mountains Estate.

Aging: 100% air-dried american oak barrels (48% new, 30% one to two years old, 22% three and four years old).

Time in barrel: Seventeen months

Growing Season

Rainfall: 30 inches (just below normal)
Bloom: Early June
Weather: Moderate summer/fall; a long cool growing season.

Winemaker Tasting Notes

Opaque, dark ruby. Ripe cassis, black currant aromas; licorice, fennel, black olive, cedar, juniper berry, black tea. Opulent entry; rich cassis, blackberry, olive, tobacco, forest floor. Integrated tannins, long sweet-toasted-oak finish. EB (3/10)

Tasting Notes and Reviews