$30 per bottle / $324.00 per
case
$25.50 per bottle / $288.00 per
case (Members)
Sweet Wine of the Earth ~ 375ml
By happy chance more than by design, the Beeswax Vineyard, located
at the very mouth of Arroyo Seco in the Salinas Valley in Monterey
County, gifted us with its third (and quite rare) appearance of
botrytised roussanne in 2011, supplemented by the first appearance
of botrytised grenache blanc. One has simply no choice - it is
written in the Book of Love - but to describe Le Vol des Anges
("the Angel's Flight") as quite out of this world.
The name of this wine, while following the extra-terrestrial,
volitational theme of Le Cigare Volant, also alludes to the
extraordinarily rare chance of encountering a natural occurrence of
botrytis in the Beeswax Vineyard with these particular varieties*.
In a rare instance of vitaceous synchronicity, the name of the
vineyard, "Beeswax", captures the dominant flavor element of the
wine. Along with honey, apricot, lavender and perhaps marzipan,
there is a strong scent of citrus peel – mostly Osage orange, but
also a little grapefruit and even mandarin. The ’11 vintage does
not have quite the sweetness level of the ’06 and ’07, but retains
remarkable freshness; the natural, mild astringency of the
roussanne balances the sweetness exceptionally well.
* Both grenache blanc and roussanne have reasonably thick skins;
further, the atmospheric conditions of the Arroyo Seco, with its
generally low humidity and consistent wind, is pretty non-conducive
to the formation of botrytis; we are lucky to see a good, clean
botrytis infection occur maybe every 3 years in 10.
Vineyard | Production Notes
2011 brought unseasonable dryness to the Beeswax Vineyard in Arroyo
Seco, with lower humidity and fewer rain showers than ideal for the
development of the noble rot, botrytis. However, with great
delight, we harvested sufficiently botrytised fruit to produce a
2011 Le Vol des Anges. Hand harvested and sorted with great care,
selecting only the most botrytised fruit from multiple picking
passes, prior to tend foot stomping and several hours of
macération pelliculaire to soak up the sugar and flavors
from the desiccated grapes. The fruit was then gently pressed to a
juice of 36° brix before undergoing fermentation on its own
indigenous yeast in stainless steel.
Vital Statistics
Varietal Composition: Biodynamic® 60% grenache blanc, 40%
roussanne
Vineyard: Beeswax
Appellation: Arroyo Seco
Alcohol by Volume: 12.3%
Residual Sugar: 11%
Sugar at harvest: 36° brix
TA: 10.0 g/L
pH: 3.87
Production: 149 cases
Bottle Size: 375ml
