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October 27, 2005
2002 BIG bottles
Very cool. For those of you who like big bottles, you might enjoy these photos of our large formats from the 2002 vintage. The bottles were etched and then handpainted by Bergin Glass Impressions. If you are interested in purchasing these bottles, email us.
3 liter Double Magnum
6 liter Imperial
Both 3 and 6 liters side-by-side
Posted by matchvineyards at October 27, 2005 12:54 PM | Comments (1)
October 19, 2005
Winemaker's Report 10/19/05
Cary:
We are pressing the two tanks of butterdragon today. One tank is in the press now. The lots will be kept as two lots.
Will go to barrels.in a few days. ML in barrel.
The wines look great
Posted by matchvineyards at October 19, 2005 01:01 PM
October 17, 2005
Winemaker's Report 10/17/05
Cary:
Tank 9 baconbrook. Dark dark dark. Dry deep rich. Not too tannic but round been dry for a few days. Will leave on skins.
Very nice
OT3 butterdragon
OT13
Exotic spices. Dry dark clean deep flavors May press one tank and keep the other on the skins a bit.
Posted by matchvineyards at October 17, 2005 01:32 PM
Tasting: 2002 Stags' Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark color, aromas of stewed dark fruits and EtOH. Although the wine did gain some heft in the glass, it still ended up as a light to medium bodied wine -- a bit surprising considering the vintage. Significant smokey oak flavors with blackberry and casis playing more of a backup role. Drink now and over the next few years. Nice wine and recommended at the $39 per 375ml charged on the Oliveto restaurant (Oakland, CA) wine list.
Posted by matchvineyards at October 17, 2005 08:28 AM
October 14, 2005
Winemaker's Report 10/14/05
Cary:
All tanks are almost dry
Look / taste great
Posted by matchvineyards at October 14, 2005 09:12 AM
October 13, 2005
Winemaker's Report 10/13/05
Cary Gott has been using his Blackberry this season to keep me updated with brief messages. I'll post of few of his reports here. We start off on Thursday, October 13. The grapes from both vineyards were harvested the week prior and Cary is reporting on fermentation progress:
All ferms in opentops are up to temp 83 and smelling good. Sugars are dropping properly.
Posted by matchvineyards at October 13, 2005 07:34 PM
October 10, 2005
Tasting: 2001 Rosenblum Syrah England-Shaw Vineyard
Youthful, and in fact could use a year or two more in the cellar. Inky black. Initial aromas of stewed prunes brightens to aromas and flavors of plums, smoke, black pepper and a slight medicinal character. I love the way Rosenblum consistently produces fine wines from so many vineyard sources. Recommended.
Posted by matchvineyards at October 10, 2005 08:01 PM
October 05, 2005
Harvest Report 2005
Another growing season draws to a close. We harvested Butterdragon Hill today. Baconbrook was harvested on Monday.
It's amazing how much energy and worry can go in to having grapes on the vine. Until 2000 when we planted a vineyard, I never worried about the weather beyond wondering whether I should carry an umbrella or not. But what a season! Five years, and I'm still waiting for a "normal" growing season. If you follow these sorts of things, you may remember that the weather in Northern California during the Spring and Summer of 2005 was anything but normal. Typically, our rainy season lasts from sometime in November to March or so. Not the case this year. We got a significant amount of rain in to June!
So how did it all go?
The extra rain thru an extended rainy season meant high farming costs. We had to deal with extreme vine growth and vigor. Vineyard management was a challenge as we tried to take advantage of the natural moisture in the soil (more desirable than irrigation) while avoiding growing simple, fat, watery berries or just a jungle of leaves. It seems we were successful. Although the crops were quite large, complex flavors developed slowly over the long, mild growing season. We're quite excited about our 2005 vintage.
I'll post final numbers on this harvest as soon as possible.
Posted by matchvineyards at October 05, 2005 08:58 PM
