The wine is only as good as the grapes. We carefully choose our vineyards, using only Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills
Within the vineyards, we selected blocs with vines that were at least 7 years old
Berry Size was managed to keep the berries as small as possible - about the size of the tip of your little finger
Quality of the Fruit was sensational in 2005
- ripe, rich and with wonderful tannin. To assure that the fruit is to
our standards, we crop the canopy to assure even ripening and to reduce
the likelihood of sunburn.
Excess fruit is dropped several times during
the growing season as in any fruit that is not ripening properly at
varaison. This resulted in a yield of about 2 - 2.5 tons per acre.
After the fruit has reached the appropriate
Brix and acidity, the winemakers taste it to determine when it is
perfectly ripe and ready to pick. In some cases, blocs have to be
picked on more than one occasion. This was true in the Merlot bloc and
in one of the Cabernet blocs for this wine.
We always de-stem and place the fruit in tanks for fermentation immediately after they are picked - The Grapes Never Sit
Making the Wines
During fermentation, the wine is treated gently.
The process we use results in Perfect
Fermentations. After fermentation is completed, the wine is clean and
fragrant, full of fruit.
We use a very Light Press - less than half the
pressure used by most wineries. The free run wine is taken off and
kept separate until blending. This results in tannins that are round
and wonderful, not harsh.
Everything we do is aimed at balance. We produce wines that are powerful, yet elegant and full of fruit
Rollat 2005 was aged from October 2005 to
February 2007. Only French Oak was used. A third of the oak was new, a
third had been used once and a third had been used twice.
If asked: The wine was Lightly Filtered before bottling.