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. |