97 points, James Halliday
"50/50% P58/Dijon chardonnay clones, the vines planted in '81; hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, wild-fermented, matured in new French oak. Exceedingly powerful and complex. Needs to be chilled on a warm/hot day, but is quite something."

As our 21st Anniversary in wine passed this year I have had many reasons to reflect on the wines we have made.  I have been very satisfied by the way many of them have aged and still retain a real sense of place and time.  This has led me to think about what it was about these wines that allowed them to age so graciously.

Determining ageabilty of a wine is not an exact science. That being said there are three traits that are important to a wine’s longevity. These are acidity, tannin structure and fruit density.  This Allegra has incredible acidity with a pH 3.15 (after 100% MLF). It was elevaged in 100% new oak allowing the oak tannins to frame this wine. Finally it comes from a vineyard that is 47 years old and only produces 12Hl/Ha giving incredible fruit density.  I think a wine to enjoy for quite some time.

Ray