2012 Flagship Reserve Ciel du Cheval, Red Mountain

The process of determining if we can produce a reserve wine starts with a review of each individual barrel of wine we produce. If we find a combination of barrels that stands out from the rest, we consider creating a reserve wine. Of the 53 barrels of wine we produced for the 2012 vintage, we found 12 that were unique, distinctive and stood above the rest of the wines. From these twelve barrels we produced two separate reserve wines. The first is the Flagship Reserve. A blend of three different Bordeaux grape varieties -- Merlot (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (33%) and Cabernet Franc (17%).

All of the barrels of wine included in the final blend where fermented in roller barrels.  A roller barrel is a traditional oak barrel only slightly larger that has been fitted with special ports to allow for the filling of the barrel with crushed grapes and the removal of pomace when fermentation is completed. The barrels are then mounted on special racks, so that they can easily be spun by hand a couple of times a day during fermentation.  This process creates a wine with great mouthfeel. The normally supple tannins found in grapes from Ciel du Cheval are further refined to create a wine with a full and round feeling in the mouth while preserving the intense fruit flavors. Following fermentation the wine was moved to 100% new French oak and aged for 22 months.  The barrel selection varied with each lot, giving a complex series of flavors from the barrels that match the intensity of the fruit flavors from the grapes.