A DONE DEAL !

 

CRYO

 

I have no earthly idea why we would think that a (completely arbitrary) date like April 15th means we are out of the woods with regard to the occurrence of frost events at our elevation. In 2008 we were wrong and so suffered at the fickle hand of Mother Nature as did many of the Northern and Central California vineyards that year.

In the very early morning hours on April 20, 2008 a twenty-seven degree wind blew down from the Sierra and stayed on our ranch for about seven hours. That, of course, was more than long enough to cryogenically prune the fresh green primary shoot tissue on all of the vines in both our Museum and Fait Accompli vineyards. This had never happened before.

It was a mockingly comfortable 85 degrees later that week and a benevolent warm summer/fall provided even ripening energy for what little fruit we gleaned from the secondary shoots.  Smaller caliper, cane length, bunch size, bunch count and berries left us with the smallest crop we have seen since our first vintage in 1999.

The perverse upside is that, with a higher solids-to-juice ratio, the wines from these two estate vineyards are more deeply concentrated in their color, flavor and aroma expressions.

They are also a bit more earthy and tannic and, frankly, still want for a bit more cellar time.

As is our tradition, Fait Accompli 2008 "Cryo" is a co-fermented field blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (clones 7 and 8 and 337), Cabernet Franc,), Malbec, Petit Verdot, Carmenere  and Merlot (clones 4 and 181).

After a long fermentation with two Bordeaux yeast isolates, this wine was allowed to rest without racking in three new Hybrid French/American oak barrels for over 30 months. 

Fait Accompli 2008 "Cryo" was bottled on May 24, 2011.      

Sixty- six cases produced.  $60.         

                                          NEWS FLASH

 

The 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition was conducted June 15th through June 17th at the Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco, and the results are in! More than 4,500 wines were judged this year-the largest Competition in our 32-year history.

 

On behalf of the Competition, we would like to thank you for entering this year's judging and congratulate you on your results. At the bottom of this e-mail you will find a complete listing of the entries you submitted and our judges' decisions for each one.

 

2012 RESULTS

Double Gold Medal Westbrook Wine Farm Fait Accompli "CRYO" 2008 Field Blend, Estate Grown, Madera $60. www.westbrookwinefarm.com

 

A listing of the top medals awarded will be featured in the August issue of The Tasting Panel Magazine. Best of Show and Double Gold medal winners will be invited to participate in a 13-city tour sponsored by The Tasting Panel Magazine.

 

 

 

 

Tours and tasting by invitation, appointment or referral.  559-868-3499 www.westbrookwinefarm.com