A hint of garnet in this darkly colored wine indicates a riper, more mature wine, which is typical of the 2001 vintage from Red Mountain. Dense, ripe blackberry, cassis and a hint of plum fruit aromas are perfectly balanced by aromas of vanilla, cola, butterscotch, licorice, spice and cocoa with a hint of earthiness. Concentrated flavors of ripe blackberry and cassis fruit combine with hints of cocoa powder and vanilla. This is a dark, dense wine from the start to its long, fine-grained tannin finish.
Grapes are from the Red Mountain Appellation vineyards of Hedges Estate, Bel’ Villa and Red Mountain. The wine was aged as individual lots in 75% new and 25% selected one to two year old French (90%) and American (10%) oak barrels for 18 months.
Harvest notes: Very hot followed by cold, wet windy temperatures during bloom and set caused uneven set. Combine this with a typically warm summer and ideal extended fall ripening conditions of warm days and cool nights and the result is a somewhat unusual combination of generally lower acidity and pH in the grapes. A challenging but ultimately great vintage for those patient enough to let the grapes achieve optimum maturity and the flavors that come along with it.
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