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WINES
To make the wines, we use traditional fine winemaking techniques such
as small lot fermentations, the use of indigenous yeast on the grapes
to conduct the fermentations, little or no fining or filtration, and
small barrel aging. All the wines are made, tasted, and blended by the
production team of Michael, Anne, and Matt.
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2005 Zinfandel Dry Creek
Dark, complex, mouthfilling, and rich, our 2005 Dry Creek Zinfandel is a classic example of why the Dry Creek Valley is so famous for intense zinfandels. The combination of black raspberry and chocolate flavors, combined with its velvety texture, make this a perfect wine for a wide variety of foods--from barbequed or grilled meats, to pastas with hearty sauces, or just by itself before a meal. This is the wine on which Dashe Cellars has made its reputation, and the 2005 vintage is so good that you'll find it absolutely irresistible! Robert Parker gave this wine a 90 point score for the 2004 vintage, and we expect an even better response for the spectacular 2005 vintage.
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2005 Late Harvest Zinfandel
We love these vines at the Bella Winery estate (owned by Scott and Lynn Adams), in the northern section of Dry Creek Valley. It’s a perfect vineyard for creating a sweet dessert wine, because the flavors of the grapes are so intense and we are able to let the grapes hang on the vine so long without losing acidity. Without a doubt this is one of our most popular wines, and we’ve increased the quantity we made in 2005 to keep up with the demand. The vintage was perfect in 2005 to make a very balanced Late Harvest zinfandel; it’s one of our favorites. We let these grapes hang on the vine over a month after the rest of the grapes were picked, to concentrate flavors and sugar. Since it was such a late harvest, we finally harvested the grapes to create this black, intense essence of zinfandel in early November, just before the rains.
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2005 Zinfandel Florence Vineyard
This is our first vintage from this excellent little vineyard on the northern tip of Dry Creek Valley. The grapes from this
vineyard were planted from cuttings of the famous St. Peters Church clone taken from vines on the Rockpile Ranch The 2005
vintage in Dry Creek featured a picture-perfect ripening season—warm and extended—which produced one of our most
classic Dry Creek zinfandel blends. Dry Creek zinfandels are famous for their balance of fruit, spice, and velvety texture, and
our 2005 Dry Creek zin is a great example of that style. The wine is extremely dark, with flavors of black raspberry,
chocolate, clove spice, and floral hints of violets and lavender. With its rich, velvety texture and long, complex finish, this is
certain to be one of our most popular Dry Creek Valley zinfandels.
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2005 Zinfandel Todd Brothers Ranch Old Vines
The 2005 vintage was a classic vintage, with a long, extended, quite warm ripening period that allowed the vines to concentrate flavor in the grapes. We consider it one of the finest vintages of Todd Brothers Zinfandel that we have produced, a dark, concentrated wine with tremendous depth and balance.
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2005 Zinfandel Louvau Vineyard Old Vines
These wonderful 70-year-old vines were discovered by John Louvau on his newly-bought property in 1989, hidden beneath a field of weeds and blackberry vines that had grown over the old grapevines. Ecstatic over his discovery, John nursed the vines back to health and now they produce some of the best grapes on the entire property. These are classic old-vine zinfandel: head-trained, dry–farmed, with thick gnarled trunks popping out of fist-sized rocks that make up the old riverbed. They produce less than two tons of complex, intense grapes per acre. We love these old vines, because they make a classic Dry Creek Valley old-vine zinfandel, with the black raspberry, minerality, and deep aromatic dusty spice that make Dry Creek zinfandels so popular and sought-after.
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2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
The Cabernet Sauvignon vines on the Todd Brothers Ranch—located in the steep hills of Geyserville—produce a classic Bordeau-style wine, with intense fruit, great structure, and full tannins that respond beautifully to extended bottle age. It exhibits all of the intensity and complexity of Alexander Valley Cabernet, but with a very balanced, elegant style that is reminiscent of a European wine.
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