Joseph Phelps Vineyards: 2004 Red Pastiche

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BLEND & GRAPE SOURCES:
51% Grenache, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Syrah, 4% Alicante Bouschet, 1% Pinot Noir. The majority of fruit for this blend was estate grown (70%), with the balance coming from independent growers (30%).

HARVEST DATES: Oct. 8-13, 2004.

WINEMAKING DATA:
Grapes were harvested at an average 23.0° Brix, fermented in stainless steel tanks, then
aged eleven months in two- to three-year old barrels before being blended and bottled in January, 2006.

This approachable red wine offers spice, blueberries and licorice on the nose, followed by Bing Cherry notes that follow through with a well-balanced, tasty finish. Pastiche is a perfect choice for picnics, barbecue and stews.

2004 VINTAGE NOTES:
High quality and significantly reduced crop yields characterized the 2004 harvest, which was in turn influenced by the previous growing season.

In every vintage, the prior year’s weather pattern influences the development and health of the bud responsible for the next year’s cane and grape cluster. In 2003, unseasonably cool weather conditions prevailed from March to the beginning of June, with 13 inches of ran falling from March through May.

Although 2003 produced a ripe, healthy crop as weather improved during the summer and into the harvest, the cool, we spring adversely affected the development of the buds that would remain on the vine after pruning for the 2004 season. As bud-break commenced in 2004, we saw fewer berries per cluster and commensurate reduction in cluster weight, as well as 80-plus degree temperatures for two weeks in March which resulted in one of the earliest bud break vintners could remember.

This precocious trend carried forward throughout the moderate, pleasant growing season with only a few heat spikes at scattered intervals throughout the summer. Grapes completed veraison early, and ripening produced well-developed sugars by the end of August. However, on August 27th a three-week heat spell began with many days measuring over 100 degrees. Some of the ripening fruit became dehydrated and had to be removed from the vines prior to harvesting. Depending on location, crop yields ranged from 2.5 to less than 1 ton per acre with an average of less than 2 tons per acre for all of our fruit harvested in 2004.

Our job in crafting the 2004 red wines was to moderate over-ripe characteristics, but from the very beginning the aromas and flavors drifting out of the fermenters signaled outstanding quality, with formidable fragrance, color, extract, and silky tannins, as well as powerful structure in the finish. We are reminded of the 2002 vintage, which produced wines of forward, concentrated flavors with incredible fragrance, depth and power.