The Michael Mara Vineyard is west of the town of Sonoma, at the base of the Sonoma Mountains. Deposits in the soil result from a cataclysmic landslide that cascaded stone and volcanic soil onto one spot in the valley below. Surrounded by normal valley floor loam, the Michael Mara Vineyard sits on a unique lobe of rock and red earth.
Pickers harvest the fruit in two batches. They gather the first batch, which accounts for 80% of the wine, early to capture the high natural acidity and maintain wine balance and a moderate alcohol level. The second harvest, 20% of the wine, is done a little later to capture the richness and power of the vineyard site. The fruit from each harvest is lightly whole-cluster-pressed, settled for 24 hours, then barrel fermented. The wine goes through 100% malolactic fermentation in older neutral barrels and a few new French oak barrels. It is given 18 months of barrel aging, with no topping or sulfur added until bottling. There is also no batonnage — the wine rests on the lees to age undisturbed.
