wines
Tribute
Sonoma Mountain Estate
V. 2003
Download the Wine Notes [.pdf 705k]
Technical Information
2003 Tribute was bottled in May of 2005 after 18 months in French oak barrels (35% new barrels) and bottled unfiltered and aged for one year before release in May of 2006. Enjoy it now (decanting will add to its enjoyment) but it will continue to develop over the next 9 to 12 years. It will easily age for 15 to 20 years under proper cellar conditions.
- Alcohol 14.5%
- Total acidity .6
- pH 3.76
Vintage
The 2003 vintage had the challenge of large swings between cool and very hot temperatures. We green harvested several times to eliminate stressed fruit and picked most of our blocks of grapes with two to three passes in order to get perfect fruit. The resulting wine contains silky tannins and a beautiful mid-palate feel. The finish is powerful.
Aroma
Blackberry, chocolate, black pepper, coffee with slight additions of tobacco and black licorice.
Mouthfeel
Velvety fine grain tannins grip you at the beginning and the mid-palate melts in your mouth. The wine has good concentration and excellent balance and integration throughout. The finish is firm and long with flavors of cocoa, berry and coffee.
Vinification
- 69% Cabernet Sauvignon
- 15% Cabernet Franc
- 11% Merlot
- 5% Petit Verdot