The grapes were harvested on September 23, 2006, and yielded 2 1/4 tons per acre from this naturally low yielding vineyard. The grape clusters produced just 150 gallons of grape juice, providing plenty of concentrated flavors in the finished wine.

We crushed the Merlot into a stainless steel tank and cold soaked for 5 days. After the must warmed to 50 degrees F, the tank was inoculated inoculated with BM45 and D21 cultured yeast. Primary fermentation lasted for ten days, when we pressed the must into a small stainless steel tank. The wine was innoculated with Oennococcus Oeni cultures to start the secondary malolactic fermentation.

The wine settled for two days before being racked into barrels. The grapes yielded 120 gallons of wine which aged in approximately 30% new French oak. We used a combination of neutral barrels (old French) and new Artisan French barrels. We used Vicard and Saury with medium plus toast levels. The wine aged for 22 months in barrels.