Cellar Notes
Harvested: 09/11/04
Appellation: Lodi
Treatment: Unfined and unfiltered
pH: 3,6
TA: .784
Alcohol by Volume: 16.06%
Cases to release for 2009: 25
Release date: 09/11/09 |
$55 each bottle
$44 ea. with 6 bottle order until 09/11/09
$33 ea. with 12 bottle order until 09/11/09
all prices include tax.
Shipping in CA:
6 to 11 bottles = $25, 12 bottles = free, for now.
call or email
559-868-3499
westbrookwine
@sti.net
49610 House Ranch Road
O'Neals, CA 93645
Thank you.............
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SANDY PATCH
September 11, 2009
 At
Westbrook Wine Farm we put our wines into the bottle when they
are supposed to go there. For our red wines that usually means
after an oak aging period of from 18 to 26 months. Thereafter,
the interaction (esterification) between the natural fruit acids from
the grape and alcohol introduced through fermentation form the esters
which are major components of taste and "bottle bouquet". Two
years in a barrel and three years in the bottle is a classic, if not
arbitrary, regimine for when a well constructed red wine begins its
ascendancy toward proper drinkability. The timeline, of course,
depends upon the wine. Whites and lighter reds by design (or
default) will have a rather rapid ascent toward an acute apex and
a rapid descent thereafter. Well grown and carefully vinted
wines will exhibit a slower shallow incline toward a
plateau before beginning their slower decline.
It has always been
our desire to release a "Reserve" wine on its fifth birthday and
our 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon "Sandy Patch Reserve"
from the Peterson Family Vineyard in Lodi has provided that
opportunity.
Never a
problem child, Sandy Patch was closed-in and strangely brooding during
its two year stay in new extra fine grain American oak. With the color
of squid ink and a naturally fermented alcohol of over 16% by
volume, we new it was destined for special status (and carping by the
alcophobic cookie-cutter wine critics).
Sandy Patch
remained demure through out the first two years in the
bottle. Adolescense abruptly morphed into young adulthood
in April of this year when we chanced to taste with restaurateur and
sommelier, Chris Shackelford from Trelio in Clovis, CA.
Chris' comments:
The
biggest wine to date, bar none. Doubt anyone would argue that at
16% alcohol. Dark fruit hidden by cedar box, fertile earth notes
and rich oak aromatics. It stays that way in the glass for at
least a half an hour. By the time you are a little tipsy the wine
starts to open to rich, sweet blackberry cassis fruit profile laced
with notes.
The
tannin structure stays firm from opening to finish of the
bottle w hich leads me to believe a long aging life awaits
the wine. The acid is very much a part of the wine and is well
balanced considering the higher alcohol levels.
Considering
the structure of the wine I believe the release date should fall some
time in the fall with giving the wine two months to reaclimate to the
end users celler and settling time, ready to drink from early 2010 to
2016.
The wine is still very primary right now for
a 2004 (suprisingly as high alcohol levels usually turn a wine rather
rapidly). With the high tannin and acid I believe that this will
not be the case. The high cedar and earth notes should develop
with the wine as it starts to change, pushing them more into the fruit
aromatics on the front end and incorporating themselves in a more
secondary character on the finish. I would not expect the dense
fruit to dissipate of change too much in the next six years, I do
not know how long the wine has already been in the bottle (Ray?) so my
observations are based on a
single tasting of the wine last
Sunday. This is a very interesting wine, one that I do not have
much experience with at this quality level. If to draw a
comparison I would have to equate it to a Western Australian (Margaret
River)wine such as Leeuwin or Cape Mentelle as they to have the dense
structure and high alcohol and tend to perform rather well in the
cellar for 6 to 8 years effortlessly on a great vintage.
The
only reason I believe that this wine may out perform those was that the
color on the SP Reserve showed little to no oxidation in the color...
so something is working in the wine. I would not deal with the fruit
any other way than how Ray has handled it, and would love to use this
fruit some day for myself as there is obviously something very special
in that vineyard very worth while looking at.
Cheers, Chris at Trelio
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Are you visiting beautiful Yosemite or Bass Lake this year?
You know you want to.......
Please add a visit to our vineyard and winery to your itinerary.
Give us a call, we're on your way!
Sincerely,
Ray and Tammy Krause, Proprietors
Westbrook Wine Farm
49610 House Ranch Road
O' Neals, CA 93645 |
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be additional shipping charges and must contact you.
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