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2006 Garden Creek Tesserae, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Assemblage, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County

Cases Made

460 / 750mL

Release Date

October 2012

Tasting Notes

Deep ruby-red. Vibrant aromas of raspberry, red cherry, mocha and tobacco, enlivened by a distinctly rocky element. Very ripe but juicy and slightly tight yet opens with air, showing itself but less full sweetness and flesh. This is a more sharply delineated and long, finishing with subtle suggestions of brown spices, tobacco and slight licorice. Time in the bottle will reveal more, of course.

The 2006 is dense, round and will give and give. An elegant vintage.

Vintage

The season got off to a late start from the heavy rains that persisted throughout the winter months and into early spring. Keeping with the trend of winter and despite the heat spike we had in June, late spring and summer were cooler than normal, with lots of late-morning fog, which kept the vines about two-to-three weeks behind normal. The Indian summer we usually have finally came toward late October. The fruit that was patiently waiting for the right temperatures to resolve tannins ripened at a quick pace, and we harvested our vineyard in 12 days.

The long hang time on the vine allowed the fruit to full concentrate. Unlike 2005 where the fruit developed later, the 2006 showed bright flavors early on. The initial cold soak lasted 10 days and natural fermentation went a big longer than usual with 14 days on average. Extended maceration was slightly shorter this year. The oak welcomed this vintage in early December for 20 months.

Details

Our Other Wines

Garden Creek Chardonnay

Garden Creek Vineyard, Alexander Valley
Estate Clonal Selection

A Chardonnay blend of clones we refer to as our Grand Dame. Each vintage an individual expression of 6 to 9 of the eleven clones estate grown meticulously chosen in the vineyard. French oak barrel fermentation, Eleven-months sur lie aging. Three additional years bottle aging.

WärneliusMiller Pinot Noir

Golden Fleece Vineyard, Anderson Valley
Mendocino

A Pinot Noir showcasing a classic varietal defining the intimate variation of soils in the land influenced by the cool Pacific climate capturing alluring, expressive elegant wines with texture, structure and tension.