2009 Butterdragon Hill Cabernet Sauvignon (1.5L)

2009 marked a return to normalcy -- if any year is normal in farming -- after a challenging and low production 2008. Mild temperatures and little rain throughout the spring and early summer had everything looking good and moving at a slow pace. It warmed up in time for veraison and the clusters colored quickly and evenly. Continued mild weather throughout August and September gave the fruit plenty of time to get ripe but late season rains followed by cooler weather caused a more urgent ending to what had been a fairly mellow year. We harvested Butterdragon in two different picks on October 7th and October 21st bringing in over 20 tons of grapes. By comparison, in 2008, harvest was a month earlier and more than 7 tons less.