It was a warmer than average year in the Alexander Valley for the 2015 vintage. August was fairly moderate, with a bit of a spike in temperature by early September. We harvested all of the fruit from September 11 - October 9 at peak ripeness. Yields were down slightly, but the fruit was high quality and concentration. Overall, the fruit came in nicely delivering wines of complexity and elegance. Consistent with Lancaster Estate’s commitment to making wines of authenticity and place, all of our wines are estate grown, produced and bottled. Native yeasts are used for primary fermentation while secondary malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in barrel. To preserve the truest expression of our estate, the Lancaster Estate 2015 Nicole’s Proprietary Red was gently fined and then bottled unfiltered. The 2015 was aged 24 months in 100% French oak. We chose barrels from several coopers including Darnajou, Taransaud, Demptos, Ermitage, Saury, and Bel Air. 100% of the barrels were new and all were coopered using a combination of Medium Plus, Medium Long, and Heavy toast levels to provide optimal integration and balance.