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Tasting Notes
This is a stunning and rich wine with an unctuous mouthfeel and golden hue. Classic Viognier aromas of honeysuckle, apricot, and white peach precede layered flavors of toasted almond, vanilla bean, salted caramel, and apricot galette. Elegant and lush, this wine’s sweetness is balanced by a touch of acidity.
Vintage Notes
Warm sunny days throughout the spring and summer months set the stage for a spectacular harvest in September 2014. The lack of rain meant that harvest began a little earlier than normal and was short in length, finishing up by the end of October. The temperate days leading up to harvest produced good yields of high-quality fruit with concentrated flavors, complex aromatics, and excellent structure.
Vineyard Notes
This compelling wine starts with Viognier from our Wild Oak Estate Vineyard located at the base of Sugarloaf Ridge and Hood Mountain in Sonoma Valley. The rock and gravel that have washed down over the centuries provide ideal soil for small yields of concentrated fruit. Cool evenings and warm afternoons allow the fruit to develop intense flavors and aromas while maintaining high acidity.
Winemaker Notes
The grapes picked for this Port also go into our popular white Rhone blend Estate Cuvée Blanc. Freshly pressed juice from Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne tanks is drained then placed in a single oak barrel. Fermentation is initiated and closely monitored until it hits its designated sugar/alcohol target. At this point, Brandy, distilled from our own wine, is added to halt fermentation and incorporate itself into the flavor profile. This White Port was then aged in its original barrel for almost two years. At bottling we gently racked it by gravity into a small tank before filling each bottle, corking and waxing by hand. To preserve this wine’s distinct character, it was bottled unfined, and unfiltered.
