theCompass mobile application is a winery, brewery, and distillery locator for North America.

Alexander Valley, in Sonoma County, is famed for its Cabernet Sauvignon. It boasts an ideal climate for this varietal: warm, sunny days and cool nights, which produce winegrapes with depth and complexity of flavors.

View Enlarged Image If you saw the movie Sideways and were enticed to begin a love affair with Pinot Noir, you risk becoming seriously enamored of this special wine. The movie’s leading character, Miles, would have flipped over this incredible vintage and we believe you will as well. Handcrafted from fruit sourced in the Russian River Valley, this Pinot Noir is incredibly complex, rich and bottled directly from the barrel.

The art of blending played an important role in creating this wine. Blending is a tool used to develop a more complex, finished wine. The weak points of one varietal can be counteracted by the strengths of another. The harsher tannins of the Cabernet are softened by the addition of the Merlot. Malbec adds a hint of anise and plum; the red berry flavors of Petit Verdot round out the wine.

This wine was lovingly crafted from fruit selected from the Dutton Hill vineyard in the famed Russian River Valley where the optimum soils, cool nights, foggy mornings and sunny afternoons combine to provide a perfect growing environment as well as a long growing season to develop maximum flavor, resulting, in this case, in a delicate Chardonnay with wonderful richness, complexity and depth. Further, this wine is unfined and unfiltered which means the bottle was filled directly from the same barrel it was fermented in. You may, in fact, observe a small amount of residual sediment in the bottle as the result.

The art of blending played an important role in creating this wine. Blending is used to develop complexity by adding layers of complementary flavors. Building on the fresh berry aromas of the Merlot, Malbec lends a bit of anise seed, dried fruit, and plum. Petite Sirah matches well with Merlot, contributing raspberry and blueberry, which intensifies the rich berry flavors of the wine.

This is a blend of varietals that have proved to be an excellent match for the climate and soils of the Dunnigan Hills. The Syrah comes from Jones Hill, where the thin, chalky soils help control the vine's natural vigor. The result is intensely flavored fruit. The Cabernet Sauvignon thrives in the red rock soil of the Mast Ranch, producing concentrated fruit flavors and ripe tannins.

Sur lie aging increases the aromatic and flavor complexity of the wine. The lees are stirred early - every week for 10 weeks. Stirring early in the barrel aging process, while dissolved CO2 is still present in the wine, protects the delicate flavors from oxidation. The stirring of the lees results in a creamy mouthfeel and enhanced structure.