This cuvee is the quaffable essence of the Rancho Arroyo Grande terroir. The Syrah brings the dried raspberry, spice, and depth. The Mourvedre adds focus, with a hint of game and wild cherry. And the Grenache delivers a big mouthful of fresh fruit, and, along with the Counoise, magically unifies this refined Rhone-style blend.

The Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache and Counoise were all fermented separately in small open-top fermenters. Manually punched down twice a day, the fermentation averaged about 15 days. Aged separately in French oak barrels for 13 months, the Mourvedre, Grenache and Counoise were aged in older neutral barrels, the Syrah in 30% new Francois Freres French barrels for the first 10 months. The blend was made at the second racking in August, and then returned to neutral barrels until bottling in late November 2002.