Wine Spectator rating 90 points: "Complex, savory aromas and flavors mark this as something special. The tannins are firm, but give way to a wave of meaty cherry, spice, and smoke flavors, lingering on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.
From the winery: "Raspberry and cherry with notes of violets lift from the glass and mingle with soft spice and toasted oak on the nose. Smooth, lush flavors of blackberry, black cherry and cassis wrap around a core of full, yet soft, structured tannins."
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
Cedar notes with light touches of spice fold into lingering cherry and berry flavors surrounded by a sea of rich chocolate on the long silky finish.
VINEYARD
The very warm 2000 growing season coupled with the cool evenings produced an intense, ripe vintage. Low yields in the vineyard along with low-vigor growing techniques allowed the grapes to develop the concentration and depth of fruit that is a trademark for our Red Mountain estate vineyard. The shallow, calcium carbonate-rich soil of the Terra Blanca Estate's Block 3 and Block 4 planting of Cabernet Sauvignon provides the base for 2000 ONYX. Estate-grown Merlot was selected predominantly from our Block 6 planting, which tends to be a slightly cooler micro climate than out other Merlot plantings, coupled with rocky carbonate rich soils typical of our Red Mountain Estate Vineyard. Stressing the estate vines through deficit irrigation practices and cropping our estate vineyard at very low crop levels of 1.75 - 2.5 tons per acre intensifi es the fruit concentration. Careful selection of harvest times by flavor development in the fruit, assures that we get the flavors and concentration we desire in the vineyard. We craft Terra Blanca's wines in the vineyards then allow the character of the fruit to define the resulting wines. The grapes are hand picked at the optimum flavor profile and delivered within minutes of picking to our estate winery. Estate-grown Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot complete our 2000 ONYX blend.
WINEMAKING
Once at the winery the grapes are hand sorted and de-stemmed and crushed directly into a selection of both open and closed fermenters. We typically desire up to a week of cold soaking of the fruit prior to inoculation with one of over a dozen yeast strains we commonly select. The fermentation process typically lasts from 5 to 6 days to more than 2 weeks. Many lots of red wines we extend the maceration prior to separating the new wine from the skins. Our estate-grown lots are aged in small French oak barrels (30% new) for at least two years. The wines are racked one to two times a year to work toward clarification. During this aging process, the wines are periodically tasted and evaluated. At the end of the barrel aging, wines are selected and blended together into small lots by varietal. With no restrictions to varietal and with the intent of making the best wine possible, the richest and most intense of the small lots are blended together to create our 2000 ONYX. After bottling without fi ltration or fi ning, ONYX is aged for an additional 6-12 months in the bottle before release.
