Little effort is required to extract the deep black color and lush tannin structure that are the birthright of these wines. Vinified with natural yeast, and left to macerate for several weeks on their dense skins, the resulting wines reflect the opulence and fine minerality that derives from their light yielding and exacting soils. After a long fermentation with the skin and seeds, the free-run juice is extracted and run off into small French barriques for two years or more of cellar age.

The press wines are collected and sold in bulk, as the long maceration renders these wines too rustic to be blended into our Clos Pegase bottlings. Smaller aliquots of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot from our estate vineyards may be judiciously added to spice the palate or perfume the aromatic profile of our Cabernet blends.

Ultimately, it is the alchemy of blending that is the signature of these wines. We are blessed in being able to blend richly tannic, naturally acidic Cabernet from Graveyard Hill with the preciously aromatic, but shorter, broader-textured wines of Palisades. Here, the sum is truly greater than the parts.

Our whites -- Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc -- display the fresh fruit qualities of these varieties. Our reds -- Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon among others -- offer fruitiness and accessibility at an early age by using the old technique of extended maceration, which creates softer tannins through polymerization.

In all instances, the wine ages gracefully in our natural caves hewn out of the stone, as in antiquity, free of air conditioner vibration and enjoying ideal year-round temperature and humidity.