Wine Revolution

Vintage Notes:

The 2004 season was very challenging for most and of course we are talking about Mother Nature. It's great to know that we are working with only our own vineyard and we are not out-sourcing fruit. We have been here on this ranch for 14 years and every morning we wake up to the same soils, slope and geography in our little vineyard. With a normal rain fall, spring gave us a smaller crop in 2004. While each vine received a lower than normal bunch count, flowering or "bloom" was very good to us and we received our normal berry size for our clone 337. Normally, the 337 clone would yield larger berries but due to the shallow and rocky soils on our land, its typical to have a smaller berry weight. Mid-September brought some unexpected weather - very low humidity with warm to hot weather depending on the location in the Napa Valley. Vineyards in the upper Napa Valley experienced dried clusters - forcing managers of those vineyards to thin again prior to harvest. Our vineyard, located in the more protected Coombsville district of the Napa Valley was insulated from these challenges - protected by the upward draft of air that kept the ambient temperature in our vineyard cooler during the heat spikes.

Harvest Notes:

After a warm growing season in 2004, our fruit was mature several weeks earlier than 2003. Harvest took place on the 23rd of September. We fermented the wine using D254 yeast, yielding a flavorful and well structured wine. 30 days of extended maceration led to mellow tannins with the wine pressed and drained off of the skins on October 22nd. The 2004 Ackerman Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon spent a total of 23 months in new French barrels - assuring the wine was mature and finished before bottling on September 13, 2006. The 2004 release enjoyed a further 2 years of bottle aging prior to release.