In 2006, New Years floods were followed by a dry spring, killing frosts, an early bud break. Even though there were temperatures in the hundreds for several days in July and then another heat spike at Labor Day, the overall coolness of the vintage gave us smaller clusters and berry size resulting in dramatically reduced tonnage.

With selective pickings and one of the smallest harvests ever experienced at Herb Lamb Vineyards, we produced only 88 cases of the E II Red Wine in 2006, but the concentration and depth of the wine make up for the lack of volume.

Winemaker Mike Trujillo is excited about this vintage. "In the nose, the 2006 E II Red Wine is very balanced, smelling plush and rich at the same time. In the mouth, the taste is concentrated – black cherries, coffee and rich cocoa, with a little dustiness, but the black, spicy hillside fruit indicative of the HL Vineyard is still prevalent. The 2006 vintage is not as forward or as juicy as the 2005 but it’s a very nicely structured wine. It shows a little more top weight than previous vintages – showing less blueberry and more of generous mountain fruits, black cherry & cocoa – more like a subtle 1999 vintage wine."

"On release in the spring of 2009, you will find that this wine is still wound very tightly will take a while to come around. After bottling, all the integrated components that were apparent in the final blend will take a while to meld together in the cellar. Although different from the previous E II Red vintage, as it ages the 2006 E II Red will evolve into the rich and creamy wine that is indicative of the companion E II Red wines from Herb Lamb Vineyards."

Because of its structure and depth, the 2006 E II Red wine will become a great food-friendly wine. Start planning your summer bar-b-ques and meats with rich sauces paired with the 2006 E II Red! This wine won't disappoint!