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cinnamon-spiked apples, preserved lemons, limestone.
honey, gingerbread, liquid mineral.
roasted herb chicken, fish beurre blanc.
VINIFICATION
miniscule yield of 0.9 tons/acre hand-harvested in two lots on september 29th and october 5th. hand-sorted, then cold-stable fermented in stainless steel tanks (NO OAK) using native yeast. 100% naturally-occurring, malolactic fermentation. 4-month lees contact. bottled unfiltered.
SITE
arid, high-altitude exposures at 1600' in cooler northern end of chalone appellation, just at base of pinnacles national monument. daily temperature swings of 40 - 60° F. extremely rare co-location of granite and limestone soils (from decaying marine organisms). deep porous soils and extreme microclimate create stressed vines and wines of remarkable complexity.
the feral pigs were back in the vineyard this year. they decimated michael's pinot blanc vineyard. ate every single berry. i told him we should do some lioco prosciuttos next year. what the pigs didn't get, the coyotes, birds, gophers, and mites had a field day with. the fight for life is on in michael's vineyard, evidence of a healthy, organic ecology. 2005 saw a late bud break and flowering. it was a long, cool growing season and physiological grape maturity was achieved with lower sugar levels. the abundant pests meant record low grape yields of 0.9 tons per acre. with yields that low, we can expect immensely concentrated wines.
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