1998 J Vintage Brut Late Disgorged Russian River Valley

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The Vineyards
A cool, wet start to the 1998 growing season in the Russian River Valley contributed to a late harvest. Patience was awarded, despite the capricious weather, in optimally mature grapes showing expansive aroma and rich flavors.

Winemaking
This wine was crafted with an unrelenting passion for producing a wine of great elegance and individuality. All grapes were hand-harvested into small bins and hand loaded as whole clusters into our special Coquard champagne press for a gentle pressing cycle. Vineyard lots and press fractions were kept separate until blending decisions were made in mid-November. The blend was assembled in December of 1998, cold stabilized and then bottled over the spring of 1999.

Aging
The secondary fermentation in the bottle lasted 6-8 weeks. The wines then patiently aged for an extended period of eight years in our cool cellars. In 2007, we began riddling the wines to remove the yeast sediment responsible for the aging character. A dosage liqueur was prepared from a blend of cask-aged, reserve wines and pure cane sugar and added to the individual bottles at the time they were disgorged. After the wine was disgorged, it was aged for an additional year before we released it from our cellars to ensure a perfect balance of flavors.

Tasting Notes
On the nose, the 1998 Late Disgorged Brut offers warm baked biscuit, and thyme-scented honey aromas mixed with soft citrus notes of lime, Meyer lemon and tangerine. This Tête de Cuvée displays a creamy mouthfeel and intricate nuances that only extended yeast contact can offer. Its full flavors round out with notes of warm spice, cinnamon and caramel leading to a lengthy finish with just enough acidity to keep it fresh while allowing its layered structure to shine through.

Appellation:   Russian River Valley

Residual Sugar:  1.25%

Final Analysis:  Alcohol 12.5% by volume

Final Blend:
54% Chardonnay
44% Pinot Noir
2% Pinot Meunier

Production:  600 cases