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The goal at Dancing Hares is to produce a wine, without varietal designation, that best captures the character of the vintage and our unique terroir. Our Merlot vines typically produce a very small crop of intensely flavored fruit, with notes of bittersweet chocolate and ripe raspberries. The Cabernet Franc is also compelling, boasting aromas of licorice and spice, and providing an unctuous, jammy mouthfeel. No surprise, the Cabernet Sauvignon shines in our lean, rocky soils, providing a strong backbone along with blackberry, cassis, and earth tones. The sum of all three varietals is even more enticing than any of the individual parts. We regularly revisit the wines over time in the barrel, and blend just the right percentages of each that best showcase the potential of our vineyard.

The 2008 Dancing Hares

BLEND: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot

AGING: Aged for 20 months in French Oak barrels, 85% new

WINEMAKER NOTES:

The spring in 2008 came early, and brought very little rain. The vines responded by setting reasonable number of clusters with very small berries. The growing season was relatively mild, but with several well-timed heat events. Conditions during harvest were such that we could take our time picking each variety at optimal ripeness, beginning with Merlot in early September, and finishing with Petit Verdot in early October. The measured, deliberate harvest gave us a broad spectrum of flavors and textures to work with when crafting the blends for the 2008 Dancing Hares offering from our tiny five-acre estate.

All four varieties on the estate added to the depth and hedonistic pleasure of the 2008 Dancing Hares, though Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc provided the bulk of the blend. There is a fresh, vibrant character to the wine, with aromas and flavors of fresh-cut black cherries, ripe raspberries, and blueberry pie. The tannins are seamlessly integrated with the fruit, and the finish seems to go on for minutes. This is definitely a wine that delivers immediately in its youth, and that should be on an upward trajectory for years to come.