Details:

Bottling Date: July 22, 2016
Alcohol: 15.86%
Titratable Acidity: 5.1 g/L
pH: 3.95
Time in Oak: 22 months
Type of Oak: 100% French, 85% New

Vintage Notes:

2014 was a knock out year on record in California history and it was a stunner. Bookended by a God sent early spring rain and a 6.0 Earthquake, 2014 was a reminder to count our blessings. While dry, temperatures were relatively mild, not breaking 100° F the entire season. This easy going growing season allowed us to find the “just right” window of physiological maturity and peak flavors to harvest our vineyards with conditions for ripening, maturation of tannins and concentration of flavors. The majority of the fruit for our Alpha Mare comes from vineyards in the warmest part of the Napa Valley, namely Calistoga. We love the intensity and lushness of the flavors we get from the lean soils and wide temperature swings from day to night.

Tasting Notes:

Our 2014 Alpha Mare is a Limited Production Red Blend Wine that came together from the Best of the Best in our cellar. This is an intensely rich, complex and elegant wine. From fruit notes of juicy raspberry, sappy fresh blueberries and hints of candied violets to the warm notes of beeswax, honey, creamy milk chocolate, toffee and nougat, this wine rewards the taster more and more with each examination. Layered in the mouth with ripe sweet tannins, weighty palate presence, a lovely balanced texture and a graceful pause mid-palate. Its precise flavors are well matched to the promise from the nose along with cherry pie filling, cardamom, well-knit oak and a lengthy generous and lush finish.