> 2008 Rosso Fazekas Napa Valley Sangiovese
2008 Rosso Fazekas Napa Valley Sangiovese |
 Place and vine:
The Rosso Fazekas is our first wine produced primarily from a varietal of Italy. From the ideally situated vineyard that produces our Napa Petite Sirah, we have created a wine from vines that came from the hills of Tuscany. Planted 20 years ago, the Fazekas Sangiovese is known to be some of the finest Sangio in the state. A collaboration with the vineyard owner, Tom Fazekas and the Robert Mondavi family, several conditions/attributes were considered for the site location, clonal selection and orientation of the vineyard. The result - grapes that produce Sangiovese based wines of depth and complexity. True to Sangiovese’s roots, this is a wine that begs to be paired with food. Steak Florentina anyone?
What we did:
We brought the Sangiovese in from the Fazekas vineyard in three different lots to be fermented in open top fermentors. The fruit was first destemmed then underwent a four-day cold soak, involving a twice daily gentle pump over of the juice. Once fermentation began, we punched down twice daily until fermentation was complete. We pressed to French oak barrels, 10% one-year old. During its life in barrel we racked four times. For further mid-palate richness we blended in 7% Syrah and 7% Petite Sirah.
What we think:
We have wine at the dinner table every night. With a complex flavor and structure, the Rosso Fazekas is the perfect accompaniment for many meals. Brandied dried cherries aromas tinged with vanilla and marzipan give way to flavors of raspberry liquor, sour red cherries and almonds. The fine astrigency and balanced acidity in this medium bodied wine makes it well suited for a great variety of foods and cuisines.
Harvest: Sept. 8 – Oct 3, 2008
Brix: 24.5 - 27.0°
Clones: 115, 667, 777, Pommard 5
pH: 3.76
T.A.: 5.9gms/L
Cooperage: French Oak
Bottled: March 9, 2010
|