What the Winery Says

Planted to all five Bordeaux varietals as well as Syrah, the Erba Mountainside Vineyard team has been blessed with a ‘next to perfect’ setting nestled well above the fog line. The vineyard is a twenty acre parcel consisting of fourteen blocks. Each row receives abundant sunshine through the early morning and mid-day, followed by forgiving Westerly breezes and cooling shade in the afternoon. To put it simply, each acre of Erba Mountainside wines consistently display a dark and richly complex, site specific character that you would only expect from the most seasoned wines. It all begins in that ‘next to perfect’ setting.

Climate:

Located on the Eastern slope of Atlas Peak, Erba Mountainside Vineyard typically receives early morning and mid afternoon sun. The soils are volcanic and porous enabling the heat to radiate. Cooling breezes typically rush through the mountains at times taking the temperature down 30° F by late afternoon. The temperature change is vital to maintain acid structure in the grapes.

Winemaking:

At harvest, clusters are hand picked, destemmed and sorted prior to crushing. Malolactic fermentation is done in barrique. 100% French Oak is used throughout, and Cabernet is exposed to 80% new to enable the vineyard characteristics to come through in the wine.

Tasting Notes:

The 2005 vintage was characterized by a long perfect growing season without temperature extremes which allowed long hang time to develop full physiologic ripeness of the grapes. The 2005 Proprietary Red is at once elegant, rich and powerful. Brilliant purple in color, aromas of wildflower and rose oil deepen as the wine opens. Flavors of cassis, huckleberry and tar are accented by notes of smoked meats and cardamom. Polished, fine-grained tannins are supple and silky. The multi-layered finish relaxes and evolves with time, indicating age-worthiness

Oak: 100% French, 80% New

Alc: 14.8%

Production: 860 cases

About the Winery

In 1998, after two years in searching for a site that could be developed into a premium,world class vineyard,the goal was finally achieved. This site possesses the attributes for a unique terroir with features of steep slopes at high elevations of 1100 to 1550 feet above sea level with very rocky volcanic soils.

The vineyard has a unique microclimate next to Atlas Peak.It is above the morning fog which allows abundant sunshine throughout the day to ripen the grapes fully. Cooling westerly breezes come over the mountainridge midday and in the late afternoon the mountainridge shades the hot afternoon sun.

The vineyard was developed into 14 blocks with a total of 20 acres planted. Each block has varying row direction and slope and therefore each block is harvested separately for optimum ripeness. Tight vineyard spacing was used to give the vines more competition to improve grape quality. Rootstock and varietal recommendations from Paul Skinner, PhD, matched the soil to the rootstock to keep vigor low and balanced. With much research the highest quality, low yielding clones were used including many of the ENTAV-INRA clones from France. All five Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec, as well as Syrah were planted. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for approximately 70% of the vineyard plantings.

All wines are made from the estate grapes. 2003 was the first commercial vintage for Erba Mountainside Vineyards. We are very enthusiastic about the quality of the new releases of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah to be released in 2006.

Proprietor/Vintner

Paul S Erba

Winemaker

Denis Malbec