The 2008 growing season endured some early season cold weather and frost. The vineyard suffered only slightly from the freezing temperatures and benefited from moderate weather through the remainder of the growing season. A mid August harvest meant the fruit was picked before the late August/early September heat wave hit. Thus the Voss Sauvignon Blanc developed beautifully during the warm summer days and typically cool evenings. We harvested for maturation over four nights in mid August with the various vineyard blocks giving us the breadth of fruit profile.
Our pre dawn harvesting, when the fruit is at its coldest, helps to retain the vibrant Sauvignon Blanc aromas and flavors. Coupling this with holding the fruit on the skins for 24 hours before pressing results in very intense fruit flavors from our Rutherford vineyard. The juice was fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel tanks over three weeks with selected yeasts that further enhanced the flavors. The wine was bottled in March 2009, using the ‘Stelvin’ closure.
