PHOENIX VINEYARDS

1998 Napa Valley Cabernet Franc

Winemaker's Notes:

Varietal %s: 78.6%Cabernet Franc, 21.4% Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Napa Valley)

Date of Harvest: Oct 18th, 22nd; Nov 3rd~ 12th through Nov 20th

Brix at Harvest: 21.2-24.0 BrixEnd Alcohol: 14.1%

Length of Ferment: 8-10 days with up to 38 days total skin contact time (30 days avg.)

Time in Oak: Over 26 months in a mix of French and American Oak barrels,

Bottling Date: April 14th, 2001 (No fining or filtration)

276 cases produced

The 1998 growing season was unseasonably cool for the North Coast of California. It staffed with a cool and wet spring season. This pattern delayed budbreak and led to a poor fruit set which cut our crop levels as much as 60% from 1997 (for example our Hill block Cabernet Sauvignon yielded less than 1 ton per acre!). The damp spring also kept the green tissues of the vines succulent and tender into the early summer months. An intense heat wave hit the Napa Valley in June and burned many vines and grape clusters with some wineries seeing more than 10% loss of crop from only a few days of hot weather. Luckily for us, Vineyard Manager David Bader timed his irrigation schedule to mitigate such an emergency. Our grapes emerged unscathed for the most part. The strange weather continued as the summer cooled back down and by October ~ most wineries had barely even started harvesting. After a storm scare passed in early October the sun re-emerged and the following 3 weeks were warm and sun-filled. Our Estate lots of Cabernet were brought in before November. Other small lots in Oakville and Yountville were harvested in November.

In the winery we continued to work with long skin contact periods as we did with the 1997 vintage. This Cabernet Franc, for instance, was the beneficiary of some of the longest skin contact times we have used to date. Leaving the skins to soak with the newly fermented wine helped develop a soft finish and lingering aftertaste due to a resolution of the harsh tannins while still in the fermenting tanks. Manual mixing of the tanks (punching down) during the ferments aided in the gentle extraction of characters from the grapes. As with all of our red wines, this vintage Cabernet Franc was bottled without fining or filtration to preserve maximum character in the bottle.

At this point the 1998 Napa Valley Cabernet Franc is showing a complex aroma profile with cedar, earth, cola, cherry, plum and hints of vanilla with exposure to air. It is a wine more concerned with elegance than with brute extract. The flavors range from meat and plum to cassis and earth as they linger into the soft finish. It brings to mind the great wines of the St. Emilion district in Bordeaux, France. This wine will pair very well with many dishes including beef and lamb or even sant~ed portabello mushrooms with garlic and Pannesan cheese. As such, it should provide many years of enjoyment. A Sante!