1996 J Vintage Brut (Magnum)

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Winemaker Notes
The 1996 growing season in the Russian River Valley was marked by heavy rains during the winter and slightly early bud break but mostly by a relatively cool spring that turned into a very hot summer. A heat wave that struck in mid- August served to ripen the grapes very fast. The 1996 wines were not intense early on, they posses a fair amount of natural acid and therefore were slow to open up, these same characteristics make the 1996 wines age very gracefully.

Processing
All grapes were hand-harvested into 40-lb. lugs and hand loaded (whole clusters) into our Coquard champgne press for a gentle pressing cycle. Vineyard lots and press fractions were kept separate until blending decisions were made in mid-November. The cuvee was assembled in December of 1996, cold stabilized and bottled over the spring of 1997. After secondary fermentation (in the bottle) the wines aged for an average of 42 months in our cool cellars. Dosage was made from a blend of wood-aged reserve wines and pure cane sugar. This wine was aged for 12 months before it's release from our cellars. 475 cases of Magnums were produced for this vintage.

Tasting Notes
Elegance is the key word to describe the 1996 J Vintage Brut. The initial aromas are slightly floral with apple and citrus overnotes and a light dusting of yeast autolysis character. The flavor profile is broad and medium bodied, a core of fruit flavors enveloped by a rich array of delicate nuances of smoke and yeasty characters. The wine's medium acidity serves to marry all the components into a seamless experience, ending with a long, clean, slightly smoky aftertaste.

Harvest: August 22 to September 22, 1996.

Harvest Analysis: Average sugar 19.4° Brix

Final Analysis: Alcohol 12.6% by volume

Final Blend:
52.5% Chardonnay
45.0% Pinot Noir
2.5% Pinot Meunier
100% Russian River Valley, Sonoma County.