Vineyard notes

Farley Peak is the highest point on Shamrock Ranch, an extensive property just south of Laytonville in northern Mendocino County. The property is primarily used for cattle production and timber harvest. The vineyard is relatively new and sits at 3000' elevation. We were attracted to this vineyard because it was developed by a long time friend and vineyard manager, Eric Foster, who has supplied us with Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon from Elizabeth Vineyard in Redwood Valley.

Shamrock Ranch is also know by trophy hunters for the large (enormous) elk that graze on the land. It is not uncommon while driving to the vineyard atop Farley Peak to encounter wild boar and turkeys.

The pinot noir from this ranch is concentrated and elegant as the vineyard yields less than two tons per acre. While most of the fruit goes to a larger winery to the south, we have been able to secure a small lot for our winery

Production notes

This cabernet is produced in a traditional way, although the scale of our production is much smaller than the norm. The grapes are crushed into small 4x4x4 tubs normally used as picking lubs by larger wineries. As the fermentation proceeds, we punch down the cap about every six hours. Fermentation typically lasts less than a week at which point the wine is pressed, transferred to a tank for settling and again transferred to barrels where the wine ages for about 18 months. During that time malolactic fermention is completed. The wine is filtered only through "loose" pads before bottling.

Awards

The Farley Peak Cabernet has not been entered in competitions as of this report.