Zepaltas Wines

I think that I have finally hit my stride with the La Cruz Vineyard. With the 2005 I loved the wine, but it was not the wine I exactly envisioned. With the 2006 it had all the things that I like as a winemaker, but the wine needed time in bottle to show well for you the consumer. I think that the 2007 version is a wine that meets in the middle in regards to both of those wines. The wine is loaded up with flavor as in 2005, but has the texture and backbone of the 2006 that I loved so much.

The final blend of the wine was aged in 40% new French oak for 11 months. I use Boutes Grand Reserve barrels on this wine because of their tight grain and mellow toasting. I have come to love these barrels because they really respect the fruit. To me, they just seem to provide a nice cradle (while adding a touch of spice) for the wine, and let the wines fruit characteristics dominate.

Brightness, I think, is the best way to give a one-word description of the 2007 La Cruz.
When you first get into this wine, it greets you with flavors of earth, raspberry, rhubarb and wet stones. When you give the wine sometime to evolve, layers of cream, strawberry, blueberry and sour cherry are let out. The La Cruz is held together by a slight backbone of tannin, and is really refreshing and clean. It is most definitely a food wine. I am envisioning some sort of pan roasted duck or an exotic lamb dish.