2011 presented California winemakers with some unusual challenges, but ones that weren't necessarily unique, provided you'd been making wine the past decade or so. The cold growing season and resulting late harvest made for a virtual "mirror image" of 2010. The frost issues we had to deal with were similar to those in 2008. The extra dose of the botrytis reminded us of 2006. And the very unusual rain storms mimicked a few vintages that we experienced when we were sourcing fruit from Oregon. While learning things the hard way isn't always fun, we're extremely glad we had those experiences to rely on when making decisions regarding the 2011 harvest.

In many ways, our 2011s will be a carbon copy of our 2010s. Rich yet refined, with good density and concentration of fruit, but without being heavy. Another vintage that leans more towards elegance than raw power. And these are wines that we couldn't have made without going through the trials and tribulations of past vintages.Hide this content.