1998 Perennial - Proprietal Red Wine Blend
Tasting Notes
Two of our goals at Flowers Vineyard & Winery are to have fun creating wines and let the wines tell us where they want to go. Sometimes they may want to go to surprising places. The 1998 Perennial embodies this in its complex mixture of floral, blueberry and gamey notes accentuated by the emphasis on plum and berry fruit aromas. On the palate, the acid is firm to match the fruit flavors and support the soft mid-palate tannins. The late palate finishes long, with bright red mouth-watering raspberry. We created this wine to partner with food and be enjoyed upon release. The late palate has just a snap of astringency to indicate that it will age gracefully for the next year or two. Enjoy!
Facts
- Blend of several different varietals
- Native yeast & malolactic fermentations
- 33% new oak: primarily François Freres with wood from Tronçais forest, high toast/toasted heads. Other coopers: Latour, Remond, Billon, Cadus, Marsannay, Touton, Nadalie, Chene Coulbert. Total time in barrel: 9 months
- Harvest: mid-September to late October, picked from 22° Brix to 25° Brix
- Bottled unfined and unfiltered in August 1999; 1100 cases produced
Final bottling technical information
- pH: 3.60
- TA: 6.6 g/L
- 14.15% alcohol
- Residual sugar: 0.12% (bone-dry)
Further Technical Notes
1998 marked a distinct departure from the 1997 Perennial. Whereas the 1997 version relied on semi-carbonic maceration and longer overall time in fermentor with warmer fermentation temperatures (30-32°C), we looked to the vintage of 1998 to provide us with greater overall fruit character due to the long hang-time matched with cooler fermentations. Most berries in the Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Zin fermentors were popped, with no whole-cluster contribution. The result is more concentra-tion with excellent fruit presence, serving as an excellent counterpoint to the gamey, sauvage notes.
Our 1998 Perennial serves as an excellent example of what this wine, year after year, is all about: dialogue with the grapes and the vintage to produce a wine that is pleasing to the palate and complimentary to a wide range of foods. Each year unique: Perennial.