 Octagon is this growing region's definition in red wine.
We invite you to share at home in a tasting of Octagon in our winery.
What explains its honors and age worthiness is that it disclosed itself, over decades of empirical investigation of this terroir with many clones of many wine grapes.
To discover Octagon and what it represents, is the founding charter to which this estate is dedicated, without preference, and with no ambition other than the honest passion to elicit the beauty of this ground.
While rare in supply, Octagon is no longer rare in annual production, because the proof of the vigor of its constituent parts -- Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot -- flowed naturally from the discovery of growing sites, clonal selections, trellising systems, and vine management techniques which reveal the persistent voice of our terroir in a wide range of seasonal conditions.
Octagon became, thereby, the authentic extraction of its time as well as of its place, one of the most rewarding proofs of the vitality of the Bordeaux style in the New World. The privilege of crafting this wine can be sensed each time one of its vintages is tasted, over a long and rewarding shelf life. |
Vintage Factors:
The 2008 vintage gave us some of our most awarded Red Reserves, including Nebbiolo and Cabernet Franc in particular, and marked the first harvest from the excellent new Merlot plantings in the Santa vineyard site. The season gave us excellent bloom in Spring with fine, prolific fruit set, in large and numerous clusters. It became apparent that yields would need to be limited to protect ideal ripening in the Octagon varietals, and in Summer and early Fall there were continuing reductions in clusters. This precaution was especially valuable, then, with the arrival of Fall rains which did no damage to the fruit then retained on the vine, and we achieved excellent ripening in our candidates for Octagon. |
Vinification:
A proprietary blend driven by Merlot, with elements of Reserve Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. In the 2008 vintage, there was considerable bleeding to further concentrate the wines selected for Octagon. The constituents are vinified in different lots, using the same method. Fermentation in stainless steel tank for 5-7 days, macerated for 10-20 days depending upon the varietal. Aged 12 to 14 months in new Gamba barriques of the most select French oak, air-dried a minimum of 3 years before coopering, laid down in bottle for an additional six months before release. |
Analysis:
13.7% Alcohol
0.0% Residual Sugar
0.56% Total Acidity |
Tasting Notes:
Fine garnet color with very forthcoming aromas of lush, fresh fruit, emphasizing ripened cherry, with well balanced secondary berry aromas and flavors, still very youthful. A vintage favoring elegance over density, as in Octagon IV (1999), the wine benefits from a period of decanting before serving and opens with great warmth, showing fine age worthiness. |
Optimum Drinking:
Very attractive in this youthful phase, the wine will be showing its best in 2015 through 2018 at least. |
Food Pairings:
Osso buco alla veneziana
Chicken braised in Octagon and black olives
Sage and walnut-crusted lamb chop in rosemary jus |
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