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Malbec is one of the "big five" grape varieties in Bordeaux included in the "Cabernet family" of grapes. It plays a lesser role than Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc or Merlot, more so for its viticultural aspects than for its wine quality. In Bordeaux, Malbec is notorious for setting a light crop due to unfavorable spring time weather, and thus has fallen out of favor. In Napa, even though spring conditions are somewhat better, it still has a reputation for being alternate bearing, i.e. a good crop size one year and few grapes the next year. Viticultural considerations aside, Malbec is valuable as a wine for its deep, dark purple color, its fragrant aromas, ranging from black cherry to black pepper, and its texture which is lush and juicy in the mid palette and very soft on the finish. Obviously it is a perfect complement to the tannic, brooding Cabernet Sauvignon, but produces a beautiful stand alone wine, as well.
The 2006 Ladera Malbec is a blend of fruit from our two mountain vineyards. 50% of the Malbec is from the Howell Mountain vineyard and the other 50% from Lone Canyon vineyard. A perfect representation of each of these unique terroirs. The rolling hills and volcanic soils of our Howell Mountain vineyard lend to the bold dark fruit characters while the steep slopes and gravely soils of Lone Canyon contribute to the intense phenolic structure and complexity of this wine.
We harvested 2.8 tons of Malbec from the Howell Mountain vineyard on September 18, 2006. Eight days later on September 26,2006, we harvested 2.9 tons from Lone Canyon. Due to the small yields, the Malbec is hand sorted and gravity fed to small open top fermenters. It is manually punched down three times per day and fermented to dryness. The fermentation was completed in 15 days. We lightly pressed the Malbec before barrel aging for 11 months in 40% new French oak barrels. The wine was bottled on August 8, 2007 at 247 cases.
This wine holds true to its varietal characteristics with its dark inky color, rich aromatics and bold masculine structure. The nose has elements of black cherry, violets, red licorice, vanilla bean, white pepper, dark plum, root beer and smoky fig. This wine has a fresh entry with a fleshy and weighty body. Dark and ripe fruit flavors lead to a gargantuan mid pallet which is layered and balanced with soft wet tannins. The wine grips the entire palate for a lengthy and gratifying finish.
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