SELECTION SALUTE

Two delicious wines from Rotta Winery, one of Paso Robles’ pioneer wineries   

2005 “Paso Robles” Cabernet Sauvignon
•  The ’04 vintage won a Gold Medal from the Beverage Testing Institute, but no awards were available for the ’05 at the time of publication.
•  Dark berry aromas and flavors, and a touch of oak, greet the lover of Cabernet Sauvignon in this Paso Robles bottling.  A lush creaminess on the palate leads to an easy first place finish in your glass.
•  Fruit for this wine came from the Rainbow’s End Vineyard in the Paso Robles appellation 10 miles northeast of Rotta Winery.  “We have sourced this vineyard for four years now,” notes Mike.
•  Grapes were hand harvested from September 19th – 21st, 2005. 
•  Fruit was carefully sorted, then cold-soaked for two days before fermentation with Prise de Mousse yeast for seven days.  The wine spent a total of 15 days on the skins to absorb maximum color, flavor and aromatics.
•  This red completed malolactic (secondary) fermentation in  stainless steel tanks and was then racked to French and American oak barrels for one year.  It aged an extra four months in the bottle prior to release.
•  ”Three percent Petite Sirah was added just before bottling for “color, firmness and backbone,” says Mike.
•  Enjoy now or hold up to 12 years “if you can stand to let it go that long!”
•  A great companion to hearty fare such as pot roasts, venison stew, meat lasagna.
•  Alcohol:  13.12%

T.A.: 0.65 g/100ml
pH. 3.60
Cases Produced:  1,300
Bottling Date:  December 20, 2007
Release Date:   April 2008

2006 “Monterey” Chardonnay
•  The ’05 vintage won a Bronze Medal at the Beverage Institute World Value Wine Challenge. This ‘06 was recently released so there are no awards or reviews available.
•  Tropical and pineapple do a samba in the nose and on the palate of this classy Chardonnay.  Oak does a little turn too, with crispness marking the beat.
•  A dry-farmed Chardonnay vineyard in the Monterey County appellation supplied the fruit for this Chardonnay.
•  Fruit was machine picked in the middle of the night to keep grapes cold.
•  Winemaker Marco Caporale cold-soaked the fruit for one night before fermentation.  Juice was inoculated with Geisenheim yeast and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.  Cold temperatures preserved the wine’s fruity character.
•  All of the wine underwent malolactic (secondary) fermentation for a creamy mouthfeel.
•  This Chardonnay aged six months on the lees in French oak barrels.  This allowed it to extract more body from the lees.
•  It was bottle aged three months prior to release.
•  Oysters, crab salad, oven-baked halibut and fried chicken make this Chardonnay a star.
•  Enjoy now or hold up to three years.
•  Alcohol:  13.33%                                                       

T.A.: 0.68 g/100ml
pH. 3.59
Cases Produced: 1,300
Bottling Date:  January 3, 2008
Release Date:  April 2008