Roussanne 2012 Roussanne has a tendency to ripen unevenly, but when we harvested this in November of 2012 the fruit was a uniform glowing copper with bits of perfectly-dried botrytis here and there. Normally, Roussanne, at this level of ripeness, would arrive in excess of 25 brix, but the conditions in 2012 allowed for a at very low sugars (right around 22 brix). When we saw the fruit our challenge was to figure out a way to make a complete and totally gentle extraction of the aromas in the skins from the dense clusters. We de-stemmed the fruit and macerated it in an open bin for five days. This allowed us access to aromas that would never have occurred had we gone directly to the press and allowed us to extract them in a very gentle way. 89 cases produced

Syrah 2011 The 2011 growing season on the central coast was preternaturally cool. This resulted, in our cellar, an expression of that was completely unlike anything we had made before. This seems to shine with an inner light; wildly floral, lacelike texture and incredible nuance and finesse. 515 cases produced

Syrah Gold Series No. 001 2011 This is the wine where Cote-Rotie meets the sea; not the Mediterranean, but the vast, warm, Pacific. It is a wall of iron, lavender, black pepper, and blood, but it is also iodine, salt-breeze, and an endlessly lilting, gentle ocean. The most remarkable aspect of this wine is the tannin. You can feel them before you taste the wine as they draw other senses into play. They are immense and at moments seem to fill the entire wine; and yet absolutely gentle, ultimately dissolving in fruit. 265 cases produced

Cabernet Sauvignon True lies on a bench a few hundred feet below the summit of Howell Mountain. The vineyard was planted by Frank Dotzler in the late-90s. The site is nine acres and was literally carved out of volcanic bedrock. It presents an entirely different feeling than the endless rows of vines that carpet the valley floor and lower hillsides. The oaks and pyres of excavated rock that surround the site instill a feeling of intimacy. The site and the that emerge from it are incredibly specific. As harvest approaches one can almost see the otherworldly purple aromas waft from out of the rock and amongst the ripening clusters. When the wines are young they taste chiseled. The lavish black fruit, violets and ample tannin are rendered clear by the rock. But this is not such a wine. This wine has returned to the surrounding forest. Its long, 19th century style elevage, has relieved the wine of all its edges. Violets have become roses and left free to drift among the leaves. 270 cases produced