Tasting notes

Intense black plum, white pepper, spicy nose gives way to an explosion of black cherry, plum, licorice and anise in the mouth. The silky, mid-palate sweetness finishes with spicy tannins that linger on and on.

Wine maker notes

HARVEST 2000: A mild summer and dry fall brought the fruit to the winery at perfect ripeness, clean, and with optimal yields of 2 tons/acre. The fruit selected and hand-picked for the Reserve blend comes from Madrona and Abetina Vineyards (Ponzi owned and managed properties), and is blended with Linda Vista Vineyard. These vines are all Pommard clones that are between 15 and 30 years old. FERMENTATION: All fruit was hand sorted, 100% destemmed and fermented in small open top fermenters. After a 5 day cold soak the juice was fermented by native yeasts up to 90 degrees. Punched down manually twice a day during ferment followed by a post-fermentation maceration, the wine was then lightly pressed and moved to french oak barrels, 50% new. Aged for 18 months in barrel, blended and bottled by gravity and without filtration, the wine was aged for 18 months before release. Alcohol is 14.1%. Finished pH is 3.60.