CLOS PEGASE NEWS
The Palisades Project:
By Sue Kibbe, Wilson Daniels Ltd.
Clos Pegase has retained the services of two top-tier Napa Valley consultants, winemaker Paul Hobbs and viticulturalist Tom Prentice, as the winery embarks on an extensive Cabernet Sauvignon revitalization project focused on Palisades Vineyard.
The partnership between Jan Shrem, founder of Clos Pegase, his winemaker, Shaun Richardson, and this highly regarded consulting team is just beginning to take shape this summer. The 2006 harvest will be very exciting, Richardson says, as enhancements they've made in the vineyard this season, with input from both consultants, will be coupled with the winemaking expertise of Hobbs, one of California's most recognizable winemakers. New crush equipment and tanks will be installed before the 2006 crush, and Clos Pegase will add more new equipment in 2007 to bring the winery to the top of an elite class of Cabernet producers.
Hobbs recently blended Clos Pegase's 2005 vintage Cabernets, working with Richardson. The 2005 Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon is 96% Palisades Vineyard Cabernet.
The idea of the Palisades Project has been looming in the back of Shrem's mind for the last few years. He is committed to doing whatever it takes to develop the potential of this vineyard. "We consider Palisades Vineyard to be our proudest asset," Jan Shrem, founder of Clos Pegase, said. "I have owned this tiny vineyard for more than 15 years and believe now is the time to focus our energy on nurturing its vines to make exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon."
Shrem purchased this 42-acre property, located on Silverado Trail near the famed Jericho Canyon and Eisele vineyards, in 1989. Clos Pegase will sacrifice five of its 35 acres of vines to create a reservoir for irrigation, ensuring appropriate moisture and water levels for the vineyard throughout the growing season. The reservoir will be filled primarily from new drainage tiles that will be installed in the vineyard, which will receive significant rainfall in winter and spring. The ground-breaking for this project occurred on August 30, 2006.
Clos Pegase is considering the idea of moving a sculpture now on display at the visually arresting winery on Dunaweal Lane, Calistoga, to the middle of the Palisades reservoir, thereby giving the vineyard its own identity and artistic flare. The sculpture, by American artist Mark di Suvero, titled "Whale's Cry," is made of stainless and corten steel.
Palisades Vineyard is located in the pending Calistoga AVA, which is one of the coolest in the winter (measured by frost days and mean January temperature), and receives the highest winter rainfall averages in Napa Valley (rainfall decreases from up valley in Calistoga at 36 inches to 24 inches in Carneros). It is the warmest valley floor AVA in the summer, with the least amount of fog for its temperature. Enhancing viticulture techniques to fit these extreme conditions is critical.
Ground-breaking at Palisades Vineyard's new reservoir, christened with a bottle of Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs, which is about to be smashed by the bucket.
The drainage tiles will be installed below ground level, with sumps to pump the water to the reservoir; this will lower the water table faster in the spring and enable Clos Pegase to better manage soil moisture levels. Clos Pegase will also enhance its irrigation system, allowing the winery to apply water to the vines on each individual soil type as required, with the aim of harvesting the vineyard in uniformly ripe portions. Micro-jet misters will be installed within the canopy to cool the clusters during summer and fall heat-spikes.
"Palisades Vineyard typically provides at least 50 percent of the blend for our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and now around 95 percent of our Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon," Richardson said. "There is no doubt that Palisades is currently the pride and joy for our Cabernet Sauvignon program, but the time has come to step up the quality: We are targeting the ultimate for this vineyard."
|
