Planted in March of 2008, Escolle Vineyard is 124 acres grounded in the northern Santa Lucia Highlands. Escolle is primarily planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with 46 rootstock and clone combinations throughout the vineyard. Escolle is sustainably certified (SIP) and utilizes minimal intervention practices throughout the vineyard. No herbicides are used on Escolle, as all weeds are removed manually with either a weed knife or by hand. Minimal to no irrigation is utilized unless an extreme vintage takes place. A healthy cover crop is established to minimize any erosion and aids in ideal canopy vigor.
Produced as a mixed cépage of Chardonnay (60%) and Pinot Noir (40%), this wine is aged on the lees four years. Bright and fresh with layers of depth and structure, the Brut Cuvée is our flagship wine.
As of 2015 our estate Escolle Vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay comprise 100% of Caraccioli Cellars total production. 2016 is the second vintage the sparkling cuve´e transitioned to completely estate fruit. All grapes are hand harvested into small totes, disallowing any premature crush prior to press and preventing oxidation.
All sparkling lots are processed in four ton press loads, which is optimal when using the Coquard PAI Gravity Press. We utilize extremely light whole cluster pressing and only use the first 120 gallons/ton.
The cuve´e begins fermentation in stainless steel tanks utilizing a specific yeast strain chosen specifically for our sparkling project. 20% of the wines finish primary fermentation in neutral French oak barrels, while the remaining 80% undergo similar oak aging once the primary fermentation is complete. The total time on oak is approximately two months. Due to the extremely low pH, the wines never undergo malolactic fermentation.
The cuve´e is racked back to tank, cold-stabilized and bottled. The Brut Cuve´e is left to age sur lies for four years. Riddled and disgorged in house, the wine ages on cork for an additional 18 months prior to release.
