After the challenges of cool and unpredictable weather in 2010 and 2011, 2012 offered winemakers across the state of California a welcome respite: above-average yields, and a warm, uneventful growing season. Many growers and vintners paid tribute to the ‘ideal’ conditions. Indeed, the vintage’s principle challenged were logistical: a generous crop meant it was sometimes a challenge to find space in vinification tanks for fruit that was ready to harvest. In assessing a vintage’s stature, however, convenience and quality are only loosely correlated, and it seems that the year’s easy conditions may have led to excessive enthusiasm on the part of vintners and critics alike.

Balanced and complex, with vivid flavors of cherry and black currant. Notes of smoke and mocha.