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We are dedicating the release of our 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon to our oldest daughter, Lucy. Born on August 15, 2003, right in time for the madness of harvest, she has made a huge impact on how Sarah & I manage the balance between winemaking and parenthood. And, because 2003 is a great vintage for our Cabernet, we are happy to put her stamp on it. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Blend No. 815 is in honor of Lucy’s birthday. This wine represents our pursuit to produce a Cabernet that rivals the successes of our Zinfandel. Once again we were able to source vineyards from different regions to create a unique blend, and our finest Cabernet to date! 2003 was a cooler vintage with low yields that allowed for longer hang times and balanced maturity. The wine is a classic cabernet, satiny, rich and complex. The color is purple, ruby red, with aromas of blackberry, cassis and mocha. The entry on the palette is rich and fruit forward, with jammy flavors and sweet balanced tannins that leave a long lasting finish.

The 2005 Joel Gott California appellation Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of fruit sourced from vineyards in Monterey, Lake County and Napa Valley. The 2005 growing season was cool giving the grapes a slow maturation allowing us to harvest at the optimal maturity. We ferment in 100% stainless steel to enhance the purity of the fruit and classic varietal notes. This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of passion fruit, melon, citrus, and hints of jasmine. The palate offers juicy sweet fruit that leads to a crisp, citrus clean and long finish. With the screw cap enclosure and UV safe green glass our package ensures that our wine maintains freshness throughout its life.

This 2004 unique blend from our Gott Vines is 56% Sauvignon Blanc and 44% Pinot Grigio. The wine exhibits characteristics of both varietals with pear, passion fruit, and melon aromas. The entry is bright with good acidity and citrus flavors, and the mid palette is full and richer with a lingering refreshing finish.

The 2004 Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of fruit sourced from vineyards in Monterey and our favorite valley floor locations in Napa. The cool air from Monterey and San Pablo bay provides us with a long growing season, thus giving the grapes a slow maturation time allowing us to optimize varietal characteristics. The purity of fruit is enhanced by using 100% stainless steel fermentation, which gives the wine aromas and flavors of passion fruit, white peach, ruby-red grapefruit and hints of jasmine. This wine enters full with sweet fruit flavors in the mid pallet and lingers with a crisp and refreshing finish, a wonderful summer wine!

Our Gott Vines single vineyard syrah is from Joel’s family vineyard in St. Helena, a unique area at the base of Howell Mountain called Diego Valley. This syrah has a great expression of its terroir. It is harvested at the optimal ripeness, fermented on the skins and then macerated to achieve the best extraction of flavor, tannin, and color. Our Gott Vines Syrah has aromas of roasted plum, raspberry, and mocha. Spicy flavors, sweet tannin texture with a rich middle palette. The finish is long and firm, exhibiting the strong aging potential of this wine.

The Pelkan Syrah is from Sarah’s Family’s Vineyard in Knights Valley. The red rock soil on this hillside vineyard produces a Syrah with great intensity. Bright raspberry and cherry are intertwined with note of anise and spice. The wine also exhibits more leather and earthy notes. On the palate the wine shows its youthfulness, tight plum, cherry fruit are wound together followed by a spicy note and longer finish. As with the Gott Vines Syrah one will be tempted to drink now, but with a little cellaring the wine is only going to gain in its complexity.

he California Zinfandel is sourced from vineyards throughout California, Napa, Lodi, and Amador. The Zinfandel crop in 2004 had a normal but tight fruit set during bloom and small berry development during ripening. As a result of these small berries, we were able to produce wines with a dark purple color and sweet soft ripe tannins that exhibit richness and balance. Structured on the palate, sweet dark cherry berry flavors, and pepper spice aromas. This is one of our best bottlings of California Zinfandel to date.

In 2004, many of our Zinfandel vineyards ripened earlier than normal, but in the foothills of Amador County, the Dillian Ranch had a relatively longer growing season. This meant that the grapes experienced a long hang-time and were able to achieve optimum ripeness. The 2004 harvest of the Dillian vineyard once again produced fruit with richness, extract, and elegance. The wine exhibits rich black cherry, roasted plum, raspberry, and spice aromas. Up front it is full-bodied with sweet tannins on the palette, juicy ripe fruit, with mocha and spicy flavors. We love the balance on this wine and the mouth feel is complete with a long and elegant finish that lingers only long enough to want more!