SANTA MARIA VALLEY
The Clark & Telephone Vineyard was established in 1972 and planted with “own root” Martini clone vines. Located just 13 miles from the ocean and situated on a west-facing slope, this vineyard experiences weather patterns that pull from west to east to bring cool fog and coastal breezes inland until August when Santa Ana winds begin.
The grapes were harvested early in the morning so they would arrive at the winery while still cool, to preserve their vineyard-fresh flavors. After de-stemming (but not crushing) the berries, the must was cold-soaked for 14 days to soften the skins and allow for ideal extraction. During fermentation in a combination of closed and open-top stainless steel fermenters, both punch-down and pump-over techniques were used to extract color and phenolics. The wine was aged in 100% French oak (60% new) for up to 12 months. After it underwent malolactic fermentation, it was racked twice before bottling.
