HARVESTED: September 1 – October 13, 2015
VINEYARD LOCATION: Woodside, Los Altos Hills, Saratoga, La Honda
SOILS: ranging from deep clay to sandy loam
BOTTLED: February 2017, 728 cases
COMPOSITION: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Syrah, 10% Sangiovese
ALCOHOL: 13.8%, WINEMAKER: Colin McNany
NAME: An ‘exponent’ of varietals’ potential, part of SIlicon Valley’s vines/science heritage.
VINTAGE NOTES
In our fourth year of drought, bud break began early due to the dry winter and warm spring. The growing
season was persistently warm, and due to the lack of ground water, harvest came exceptionally early.
We harvested our first vineyards on July 29th! The crop was generally early and light across the board
with small berries and concentrated flavors. Although yields were down, quality remained incredible,
potentially surpassing the last 2 vintages.
WINEMAKING NOTES
Exponent is a cuvee from a variety of local vineyards, each harvested at optimum ripeness, brought in
over the course of harvest, and fermented in small isolated bins. Each lot is destemmed, 100% whole
berry, hand sorted, and cold soaked for 3-5 days. Punchdowns occur 3 times daily, where fruit will be
pressed off skins anywhere from 10-20 days. All vineyards are then isolated to individual barrels,
undergo 100% native malolactic fermentation, and aged for 18 months in a combination of American and
French oak, with roughly ⅓ new American oak. Individual vineyard barrels are hand selected, racked
once to tank, and gravity fed unfiltered to bottle.
TASTING NOTES
Juicy blackberries, blueberries, and crumbled honey graham cracker open up into linear fruit forward
wine. Firm tannins with an herbacious element dance with red fruits on the palette. A great match for any
red pasta sauce or grilled meats.
CELLARING
Delicious now, but has the ability to age up to 3-5 years