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Don't miss our older newsletters which contain tasting tips and other valuable information! November,
2004
2004 Harvest Report by Stephen R. Dooley September 3, 2004
- I received my first grapes this vintage a couple of weeks ago from a
vineyard/client in Atherton (on the San Francisco Peninsula) who grows
Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc - Orchard Hills Vineyard. Over the last
week to ten days I have brought in 8 tons of Pinot Noir from Aubaine Vineyard
in Nipomo. This is a really well laid out vineyard up on the hill east
of Highway 101 just south of Laetitia Winery. It's planted at 8 x 4 feet
vine spacing; all to Pinot Noir clones 667 and 777. Mike Sinor and I worked
with the vineyard owner to maximize fruit quality via customized viticultural
practices over the past year. The vineyard owner, Bob McHolland, gave us
absolute last say on number of shoots per vine, shoot positioning, lateral
shoot removal, leaf removal and crop removal at color change. The yields
were low at 2.1 tons per acre or 3.2 lbs per vine (15 to 18 clusters per
vine). We do the same thing at our estate vineyard Stone Corral, low yields,
lots of sunlight exposure on the grapes and balanced vines. The wines are
both concentrated and voluptuous. These viticultural practices yield great
wines.
September 6, 2004 -
It is really hot in California. In San Luis Obispo, we've had three days
of temperatures around 100 oF and some of the grapes are dehydrating. Stone
Corral looks good; most of Edna Ranch looks good. Thomann Station Petite
Sirah came in this afternoon, sugar around 29 oB, Dusi Zinfandel came in
as well, sugar around 25 - 26 oB. We've had a great season so far and the
sun is giving the grapes one last kiss of sunshine before they are transformed
into wine. It will be interesting to see if the heat and the sunshine will
be noticeable in the wine.
September 19, 2004 - Although I have a lot of my grapes in the winery, there are still more out in the vineyards. My daily routine is shifting from vineyard to winery as I become more occupied by fermentation monitoring, and pressing, and moving young wine to barrels. I cannot lose sight of the remaining crop in the field. September 28, 2004 - We harvested the last block at Stone Corral Vineyard. This particular part of the vineyard is the highest in elevation and quite sandy. The vines struggle but we had what amounted to be the first crop from Block 1 after last years early (January) bud break and very poor set. Even this year there was a fair amount of shatter and many of the clusters had only 20 to 40 berries. Consequently, the sunlight penetrated the cluster and reached the stem. I thought that it would make sense to utilize some of the stems during fermentation to add tannin, especially after tasting very low tannin Pinot Noir from Edna Ranch. I decided to include one third whole clusters in the fermentation. October 18, 2004 - All Stephen Ross and Flying Cloud grapes are in, but I just decided, while in conversation with George Donati, to purchase on spot market some "George Donati Vineyard, Edna Valley Syrah" for Syrah rosé and some deeply colored Syrah red wine. November 8, 2004 - The last of the red wines are being pressed off and the vineyards are going to sleep. At Stone Corral Vineyard we've tilled in compost and planted a cover crop. Already we've received 7.6 inches of rain during October and November which will get the cover crop growing. The end of the harvest signals the start of the next growing cycle in the vineyard. The 2004 season was favorably
cool throughout the entire year with the exception of near 100 oF temperature
in early May and 100+ oF temperatures for five to six consecutive days
in early September. After a very good 2003 vintage yielding wines with
good core fruit, low acidity and graceful tannins, I believe I have some
gems in the cellar from 2004. In particular are Aubaine Vineyard Pinot
Noir, Thomann Station Petite Sirah, Firepeak Pinot Gris, Bien Nacido Pinot
Noir and Stone Corral Pinot Noir. As always, the Edna Ranch Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir are solid, flavorful wines that will be excellent again
this year.
Wine & Spirits magazine names Stephen Ross Artisan Winery of the Year For the second year in a row we've received this honor. Wine & Spirits senior editor Patrick Comisky states in the Wine & Spirits Winter 2004 Special Issue Annual Buying Guide…"Stephen Ross' Stephen Dooley is a pretty unflappable guy, but his excitement is palpable when he describes his new pinot vineyard in the Edna Valley. Called Stone Corral, it's a piece of land he's leasing from the Talley Family, vine growers and farmers in Edna and the next valley over, Arroyo Grande. It's planted to a few clones but the predominant one is clipped from the Talleys' own Rosemary's Vineyard, so it has an especially good provenance. 'This clone does particularly well in the Edna Valley; it's an atypical spot,' he says. 'The soils there are very sandy, not clay like the rest of the valley.' By committing to Stone Corral, Dooley has forged a partnership with one of the most significant winemaking families in the Central Coast (and perennial W&S Winery of the Year). But Dooley's getting pretty significant himself. This is his second Winery of the Year honor, and his wines continue to show extraordinary refinement. These are not flashy wines, neither overripe nor overextracted. They're authentic, and that's a trait they share with the Talleys. Dooley's still drawing fruit
from Bien Nacido and from Louis Martini's Monte Rosso (for whom he used
to be the winemaker), and he makes an extraordinary petite sirah from youthful
vines at Thomann Station, in what amounts to Martini's back yard. His pinot
noir from Bien Nacido remains one of the best from that vineyard: direct
and sunny, grounded in firm but supple tannins."
2002 Pinot Noir Edna Valley
- Wine Enthusiast 91 points, Editors Choice.
On sale now from the winery
- $28.00 per bottle
2003 Stone Corral Vineyard Pinot Noir Update The 2003 inaugural vintage
yielded three barrels of Pinot Noir quite deserving of its own vineyard
designation, "Stone Corral Vineyard". There will indeed be a separate bottling
of these three barrels. However, they are going to be labeled "Estate"
Edna Valley Pinot Noir instead of Stone Corral Vineyard. I feel it is too
early in the vineyard's life to go to market with a vineyard designation.
While I am thrilled with the quality of the first two vintages, I am confident
it will only get better. Four additional barrels of Stone Corral Vineyard
Pinot Noir did not make the "cut" and went into the Central Coast Pinot
Noir blend. The vineyard is well tended and in the early years much of
our focus is on developing the vine and sacrificing yields, but not sacrificing
quality. In 2003 we had yields of 0.26 tons/acre and in 2004 the yield
was 0.60 tons/acre. That's a very low yield in 2004 for fourth leaf Pinot
Noir. And so far the quality is truly remarkable. The 2003 vintage will
be bottled soon and released next spring.
New Wine Subscription Program We are pleased to offer a
new wine subscription program, in addition to continuing to sell our
wines via the website, newsletters and barrel adoption program. Through
the wine program, subscribers will receive three shipments of four bottles
each per year. The shipments will average $75, exclusive of tax and shipping,
which reflects a 20% discount from suggested retail.
Upcoming Events December 7 Cousins
Wine Bar, Ventura, CA
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