| |
| Release
Date: |
Fall 2004 |
| Suggested
Retail Price: |
$55 per 750ml |
| Vineyard
Location: |
Long Meadow Ranch Bear Canyon Vineyard
(100%) |
| Harvest Date: |
Harvested September
23-30, 2001 |
| Varietal
Composition: |
97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet
Franc |
| Brix
at Harvest: |
24.0° |
| Cooperage: |
Aged 26 months in French
oak coopered by Seguin-Moreau. Medium toast. 50 percent new. |
| Alcohol: |
13.5 percent |
| Production: |
Less than 1500 cases |
| Food
Affinities: |
Perfect with Long Meadow Ranch Grass-fed Highland Beef, with lamb, or with roasted game. |
| Growing Season: |
Despite a roller coaster growing season,
the 2001 Napa Valley grape harvest was great. March was cold
and harsh, with two deceptive heat spikes into the 80s, which coaxed
the vines into a slightly earlier bloom. The subsequent April frost,
lasting two consecutive nights, gave some cause for concern. Temperatures
in July burst into the 100s for several days but fortunately with
a cooler average climate at higher altitudes, and one-third less
fog than the valley floor, the heat spikes did not affect Long
Meadow Ranch. August cooled down to perfect, average high
temperatures of 85° and almost chilly nights to put the vines
back on track. This allowed the grapes, to settle, extending the
all-important hang time and balance the flavor profiles with the
rising sugar levels. |
| Winemaker’s
Comments: |
This elegant wine has deep garnet
color with beautiful purple edges. The nose carries bordelaise
characteristics with tea, tobacco, cedar, and ripe black fruit.
On the palate there are powerful tannins giving a rich full-bodied
mouth feel including briar patch and dried black tea. Finishing
smoothly the wine has a complex earthiness knitted with dark
fruit.
-Ashley
Heisey |
| The
Vineyards: |
Southwest-facing estate vineyards
at 1100 feet elevation atop the Mayacamas Mountains at the edge
of Bear Canyon. Development began in 1990. Managed by organic
pioneer Frank Leeds. Budwood hand-selected from the Bella Oaks
Vineyard in Rutherford and Jordan Vineyard in Alexander Valley,
planted on 110R rootstock at 9x5 spacing and using contoured terraces.
This is the first vineyard established on Long Meadow Ranch since
before Prohibition. |
| Long Meadow Ranch: |
Owned by Ted and Laddie Hall,
LMR employs an integrated organic farming system using simple,
sustainable methods. Each part of the Ranch contributes to the
health of the whole. Vineyards and wine making, olive orchards
and olive oil making, cattle and horse breeding all work together
in complementary fashion, as do the egg-laying poultry flock
and the organic vegetable gardens. “Estate” fertilizers
are created through an extensive composting operation that relies
on organic material from each segment of the Ranch. Soil erosion
is controlled and new soils are built through the extensive use
of permanent cover crops made up of carefully selected grasses,
clovers, and legumes. All crops are certified organic by the
California Certified Organic Farmers and are grown without the
use of herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers.
|
1775 Whitehall Lane
St. Helena, California 94574-9786
Phone: (707) 963-4555
Fax: (707) 963-1956
www.longmeadowranch.com |
