2005 Bismark Mountain Titan, Sonoma Valley

Aromas of ripe Crenshaw, melon, licorice and vanilla. Flavors of plum with a big scucture and ripe, firm tannins.

$55.00 per bottle

The Vineyard
Our Bismark Mountain Ranch is high above the City of Sonoma and San Pablo Bay. Here on the Southwestern flanks of the Mayacamas Mountains we grow 27 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon amid outcroppings of Rhyolite. We began planting in 1991, and continue to fine tune our mix of cultivars to this day. This is steep ground; shared with Creosote bush, Digger pine, coyote and mountain lion. Topographically it is similar to the Douro. Windy, and surprisingly cool, Bismark grudgingly produces grapes with an intense, deeply concentrated flavor. Bismark’s unique terroir is both fierce and alluring.

Vintage Notes
The vintage was a challenging one. Abundant spring rains resulted in luxuriant growth requiring extra passes for canopy management. Windy weather during bloom moderated fruit set at Bismark. A moderate summer punctuated by a few hot days resulted in much later harvest than 2004.

The very ripe 2005 vintage had firm tannins that required a much less extraction than 2004. We reduced our pump over regimen and kept wines on the skins closer to 10 days than 15. We also fermented fewer wines above 80 degrees F. Press cuts were de rigueur in 2005. Ageing was 32 months. The blend was lightly filtered before bottling.

Tasting Notes
Aromas of ripe Crenshaw, melon, licorice and vanilla. Flavors of plum with a big scucture and ripe, firm tannins.