Titus

2006 Titus Napa Valley Lot 1

The Story of LOT 1

The 2006 Lot 1 is our ninth vintage of this unusual wine that began as an imaginary combination during a blending trial. Several years ago, Eric & Phillip were tasting and talking their way through small lots of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot. Tasting slowed and conversation digressed while Eric and Phillip wondered what would happen if we combined these two powerhouse varietals?

Petite Sirah is dark and inky in color, with a hearty, voluptuous texture, and characters of blackberry and black pepper. Petit Verdot shows deep, purpley colour, with a full body, firm tannins and notes of exotic florals, spicy perfume and mineral. Rarely produced as a varietal wine, Petit Verdot is generally blended into Cabernet Sauvignon based wines. Both grapes have their place, but traditionally not in the same bottle. Would blending them together be madness…….or……genius? With an established track record of extraordinary accolades and a very loyal following, we think you’ll agree, that it’s decidedly a bit of both.

Vintage

Overall, the 2006 growing season was long and steady with the exception of a cool spring with late rains and a heat spike in July. All the grapes were harvested in alignment with our predictions avoiding everything coming in at once. Interestingly, harvest at Titus Vineyards began ten days later than we would typically end allowing the grapes to benefit from the extended hang time resulting in optimum ripeness without the threat of bad weather. The lengthy 2006 growing season gifted these wines with lively aromatics, well balanced flavor profiles with beautiful concentration, and solid structure that will benefit the wines long term.

Vineyard
Our family vineyard, located on the valley floor just north of St. Helena on the Silverado Trail, possesses well-drained, sandy, alluvial soils and is characterized by its ability to produce complex wines with well-defined fruit flavors, gentle acids and naturally balanced tannins. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines vary in age. They were most recently planted between the years 1996 to 2001 and are a combination of the 337 and See clones. Further north, our Ehlers Lane Vineyard consists of a stony, dry streambed and a knoll composed of thin gravelly soil over hard volcanic ash. Planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon these infertile soils produce low yields of grapes with concentrated flavors.

Vinification
Following harvest, the grapes were de-stemmed but not crushed, allowing increased control over tannin extraction by minimizing the possibility of broken skins and split seeds. Following a 48-hour cold soak to extract color and flavor, the grapes were fermented for 10 days, with punch-downs occurring twice daily. The free-run was transferred to French and American oak barrels, where it then aged for 22 months and was bottled without filtering. The Petite Sirah provides a base of spice and rich extract, the Petite Verdot adds structure and concentrated berry fruit, and the Zinfandel adds a note of lush briar.

Wine Profile

Lot 1, our non-traditional blend of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot, is a big and powerful red wine. The 2006 LOT 1 is provides prominent aromas and flavors of dark exotic fruit such as acai, goji, pluot, and pomegranate accompanied by blueberries and boysenberries. The fruits are in perfect marriage with the notes of tobacco, fresh espresso crema, black licorice, graham cracker and spice. The finish is everlasting with traces of toffee, blackberry, violets, and mocha complimented by rich fine grain tannins The 2006 LOT 1 is elegant, balanced, well integrated and quite complex. Recommended drinking time is five to six years from vintage with a maximum suggested aging time of ten to fifteen years from vintage. CAUTION: This wine will turn your teeth blue!

Detailed Wine Information