The premier vintage of E II Napa Valley Red Wine was the 2001 vintage. Winemaker Mike Trujillo, who created both the HL and E II for us, is committed to showing off the land – the climate, the soil, the exposure – in every bottle. “The 2001 vintage especially is forward, fleshy and rich, but still nicely structured underneath with good tannins and acid, creating a big, but beautifully balanced wine.”

“The 2001 E II was meant to be a more approachable representation of the Herb Lamb Vineyards. It was not an orphan to begin with,” he explains, “but is very terroir expressive.” It was given the same care in fruit selection, crushing and fermenting, and only later in the barrel was the decision made to separate it from the HL. The wine for the 2001 E II was then aged in 1 and 2 year old French barrels with the addition of 30% new oak.

While all wines from Herb Lamb Vineyard in the 2001 vintage show great opulence, intense flavors and color, the fruit for the E II typically includes a small percentage of Merlot from replants in ‘the bottom 40’ of the Herb Lamb Vineyard, making it a soft and more approachable wine at an early age.

“In retrospect, choosing the 2001 vintage was a wonderful decision to begin this new project. It was similar to the choice of the 1997 vintage for the inaugural HL. This debut bottling of E II is definitely richer and shows a little more muscle than I’ve seen previously from this portion of the vineyard, because of the concentration from this vintage,” comment Trujillo. “Future vintages will probably become a little softer, prettier and sexier, as is typical of fruit from different sections of the vineyard that are not used for HL.” Although it is great for immediate drinking, the 2001 E II should continue to mature, with deep black fruit, blueberry and chocolate flavors filling the palate.