2014 Estate Opulence

Elegant Bordeaux Blend

• Varieties:
  30% Merlot
  27% Petit Verdot
  25% Cab Franc
  14% Malbec
  4% Cab Sauvignon
• Appellation:
  Paso Robles -Templeton Gap
• Average brix at harvest:
  24.8
• Vineyard:
  Estate
• Alcohol:
  13.8%
• Acidity:
  0.70 g/100ml
• pH:
  3.47
• Residual sugar:
  0.03g/100ml
• Date bottled:
  May 31, 2017
• Cases produced:
  335
• Retail Price:
  $ 30.00

Growing conditions:
Early! Budbreak in 2014 was nearly 3 weeks early with great growing conditions: No frost, warm days/cool nights during the growing season with harvest finishing 10 days early. While quality is excellent due to tiny berry size, yields were small due to our 3rd year of drought.

Winemaking:
After hand harvesting, the grapes were crushed then inoculated 24 hours later with D-80 yeast and spent an average of 15 days on the skins prior pressing. Different varietal lots were barrel aged separately for 16 months prior to selecting the final blend. Total barrel aging was 25 months in French and Hungarian oak barrels.

Tasting notes:
Intense, complicated, and rich. Aromatics emanating from the multi-varietal blending include hints of black cherries, dark chocolate, and violet are intertwined with spicy oak. Flavors are deep and rich with layers of pleasantly assertive tannins, rich fruit and toasty oak. The finish is lush with piquant acidity ensuring excellent aging potential.

Cellaring:
While enjoyable currently, this multidimensional Bordeaux blend will continue to improve with proper cellaring for another 6-10 years in the bottle with a plateau of best drinkability from 2019-2025.

Food selection:
This supple, complex wine will enhance elegant beef selections such as filet or prime rib as well as more
exotic game selections.