Winemaker Notes:
The Limited Release Petite Fleur is very similar to its
sibling with the luscious orange, nectarine and peach notes, along with honeysuckle,
wildflowers, citrus and honey. The perfumed
elements are bit softer, but the sweetness and vanilla and caramel character of
the cognac barrels starts to shine through more. Ultimately the Cognac essence has just the
right amount of impact without being overbearing. The finish is extremely well
balanced with orange and citrus with a touch of the Cognac rounding out the
sweetness making for a wonderful balance and mouthfeel. I am very pleased with this wine and feel all
the elements have come together very pleasantly.
Vintage:
This was a tough year on many counts. The winter started mild and was somewhat
uneventful with moderate temperatures.
Then in April and May Virginia was hit with some severe frosts devastating
some growers. We then had a very wet
start to the summer which proceeded to dry up with some extreme heat days. The rains then remerged in September making
for difficult conditions with the grapes ripening. The rains did not completely dissipate for the
remainder of harvest and did allow for some nice days to work.
Blend
100% Vidal Blanc
Harvest
The Vidal Blanc was harvested on 23 September 2020 and then
frozen for approximately 43 days. The harvest
brix was 19.6, pH 3.68 and TA 6.46 g/L.
After freezing the grapes were pressed with resulting brix at 30.6.
Vineyard Source:
Wessex Hundred, Williamsburg, VA – Vidal Blanc
Fermentation
The Vidal Blanc fermented for 69 days in stainless steel
drums with BA11 Yeast.
Aging
Used Cognac Barrels.
Bottling Date
February 2022 – 52 cases (24 bottles per case)
Release Date
February 2022
Technical Information
12.0% Alc.
3.32 pH
10.71 g/L TA
20.0% RS
