Joseph Phelps Vineyards: 2002 Eisrebe

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RELEASE DATE: Spring 2003

BLEND & GRAPE SOURCES:
92% Scheurebe and 8% Muscat from estate vineyards on our Spring Valley ranch outside of
St. Helena.

WINEMAKING DATA:
Grapes were harvested on September 24 at an average 24° Brix, then frozen to minus 5°F and subsequently pressed, after which the sugar content of the juice measured 36.3° Brix. The wine was then fermented in stainless steel tanks to 24.5% residual sugar and 8% alcohol, and bottled in April, 2003.

The 2002 vintage introduces an elegant new package for Eisrébe wherein an ice crystal design has been engraved on a clear, straight-sided Bordeaux bottle known as "Bellissima." The bottle is truly a work of art, surpassed only by the wine within it!

In July and August of 2002, a total of 40 days were marked by cool foggy mornings and warm sunny afternoons, allowing vines to photosynthesize at full efficiency so that by late August grapes displayed remarkable color and flavor development. A warming trend in September saw sugars rise dramatically, and Eisrebe was picked under optimal conditions.

The result is a stunning dessert wine containing flavors of ripe white nectarine and peach with excellent acidity balancing the high sugar content and a rich, long, rounded finish. This wine is equally at home as an afternoon aperitif or après-dinner dessert wine.