2008 La Fontana
Vintage
2008 was an unusual yet exceptional vintage season for North Fork. We had a typical late start to the spring, which was followed by periods of warm, sunny weather. In between we experienced some serve thunderstorms as well as 2 extremely rare hailstorms. We thinned all sections of the vineyard to 2-2.5 tons per acre to accelerate ripening and expose more fruit to the sun. By late September, the turbulent conditions ended and we settled into a dry weather pattern. The vintage finished strong with lots of sun and warmth in early November, allowing our fruit to fully ripen. Both reds and whites are of extremely high quality this vintage year.
Tasting Notes
The 2008 La Fontana is rich and jammy and retains classic elegance reflecting the extreme ripeness of the vintage. Dark and ripe black fruit dominate with nuances of blackberries, cassis, tobacco and eucalyptus. The Merlot provides velvety ripe tannins and dense mouth feel while the Cabernet Sauvignon adds bramble an herbal aromatics as well as softness. Malbec and Petit Verdot round out the blend adding depth and an exotic undertone. The result is a sumptuous red wine that is fat and supple, yet quite age-worthy for at least the next 10 years. A red blend in the tradition of Pomerol – this wine outclasses most wines in its price category.