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Winemaker’s Tasting Notes:
“Tal Padre, Tal Figlio”… “like Father, like Son” The newest Bordelais blend in the donati Family Vineyard portfolio is named in honor of the donati Family. Utilizing the intensity of color, tannin and fruit that characterizes Petit Verdot as the basis of the blend’s strength, we’ve counter-played that bold basis with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon which add mid- palate plum and cherry notes. a wine of great potential longevity, the goal in styling this elite red is to create a wine of intensity that expresses the fullest potential of Petit Verdot, while utilizing supporting varieties to build layers of complexity in the blend which will evolve over an extended period of bottle aging.

Vintage Notes:
Our Bordeaux vineyard blocks, ranging in elevation from 600 to 1,200 feet above sea level, are twenty-seven miles inland from the cool Pacific Ocean. With several types of soil profiles, most of which have considerable limestone deposits, the varietals exhibit great terroir character of Paicines (pie-Cee-ness), an older yet up-and-coming appellation east of Monterey. With climate much like Sonoma’s alexander Valley of napa Valley’s Stags leap district, the grapes ripen in long, warm, sunny days but cool down each afternoon with the westerly coastal breezes and fog. The 2006 Bordeaux variety harvest was hand-picked from late September through early October. The winemaking team took great care to choose the fruit at its optimal time to get the best flavors, tannins, acid and color.

Fermentation Notes:
The winemaking team decided to extend the aging for close to thirty months in a combination of French and american oak barrels. This extended aging allows the edges of the tannins to soften, creating a balance between the fruitiness and the power of the blend. in mid-winter of 2008, the Tal Padre blend was created using 49% Petit Verdot, 31% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% each of Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. This combination offers a bold yet balanced blend that has fantastic character. as all our wines, the 2006 Tal Padre is unfined and unfiltered.