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2006 Petite Rousse Paso Robles Syrah the most feminine vintage the 2006 vintage reminds me of the 2002 vintage in terms of low yields and ripeness. the 2006 vintage was definitely warmer than the 2005 vintage, yet not as hot as the 2003, 2004 and 2007 vintages. thanks to lower than normal yields in the vineyard, this is the first vintage of "petite rousse" where i co-fermented rolling hills vineyard, brave oak vineyard and shell creek vineyard (clos mimi's only growers in paso robles) in tank. hence, there will be no clos mimi "brave oak vineyard" nor clos mimi "shell creek vineyard" produced from the 2006 vintage. rolling hills vineyard was harvested at a mere 2.57 tons per acre making up 82% of the blend. brave oak vineyard was harvested at a healthy 4.21 tons per acre making up 14% of the blend. shell creek vineyard was harvested at only 1.78 tons per acre making up 4% of the blend. the 2006 clos mimi "petite rousse" is 100% syrah. according to the biodynamic calendar for september 2006, rolling hills was harvested on a "fruit day" (11th) and a "flower day" (15th), brave oak was harvested on a "fruit day" (21st) and shell creek was harvested on a "flower day" (15th). more specifically, each vineyard was harvested during the ascending moon (8-21 september). maria thun (co-author of the biodynamic sowing and planting calendar) believes that (1) "fruit plants are best harvested on 'fruit days'" and (2) "choose the time of the ascending moon" to harvest because "fruit remains fresh for a longer time when stored." philippe armenier, sophie armenier, nicolas joly and other french "vignerons" practicing biodynamics have confirmed these two beliefs with me. i strongly believe that following maria thun's biodynamic calendar every year allows me to produce wines with extraordinary purity of fruit and with uncommon aging potential. this is the first vintage of "petite rousse" to be aged 16 months in barrel. honestly, i felt the 2006 vintage needed extended time in barrel to concentrate the aromas and flavors beyond the norm for the "petite rousse" brand. this is the sixth vintage of "petite rousse" to be aged in neutral seguin moreau "center of france" 225-liter barrels. speaking of concentration, 8.25 barrels were used for topping alone which equals a 7% evaporation loss. the barrels were never racked nor stirred during their 16 month "élévage." this is the second vintage of "petite rousse" to be lullabied 24 hours a day with classical music, opera, gregorian chant and chinese meditation from tank to barrel to bottle. i nurture my wines with music. music brings a positive energy (or what the chinese call "chi") to each wine. when i am away from the cellar i feel music comforts my wines. when i am in the cellar music allows me to focus on the task at hand. i believe music compliments the cellar's "feng shui" design. continuously playing all genres of music in the cellar is one practice that i believe separates clos mimi "petite rousse" from the rest of the "monocépage" syrahs produced in california, washington, australia and france. this is the sixth vintage of "petite rousse" to be bottled unfined and unfiltered. with time the wine will form a natural sediment in the bottle. to quote another biodynamic mentor of mine, madame lalou bize-leroy believes "this is a sign that the wine is alive..." this is the fourth vintage of "petite rousse" to be bottled with a 49mm natural cork. i use natural cork because it allows me to predict the wine's ageability. this is the first vintage of "petite rousse" to be bottled on the first day of spring and on the full moon (20-21 march 2008). harking back to my days working with the witches' almanac, i felt the positive energy of the full moon would bless the bottling tank, the bottling hoses and steve rasmussen's newest mobile bottling equipment. total production is 2500 cases. to increase brand association with clos mimi's black label, i have redesigned the labels, the capsules, the corks and the corrugated boxes. with the utmost respect, the word "année" has been adopted from the domaine de la romanée-conti front label. identical to clos mimi's black label and so many classic french labels, the varietal is absent. i believe deleting the varietal from the front label will allow me to push the "petite rousse" brand to greater heights. for the first time the "CLOS MIMI" mark appears on the back label and the corrugated box. for the first time the color black has been incorporated into the "petite rousse" and "CLOS MIMI" marks. for the first time the color black has been used on the capsules. finally, the spear family "fleur de lys" has been added to both the back label and the cork. in terms of packaging, the 2006 clos mimi "petite rousse" resets the bar. i feel this is the most feminine (if not the most concentrated) vintage of "petite rousse" ever produced. poetically speaking, the 2006 clos mimi "petite rousse" reminds me of walking into an open-air flower market in the springtime in paris. thanks to its refined perfume of fresh flowers (mandarin and orange blossom, grasse jasmine, may rose, water lily), red fruits (strawberries, cherries, currants, licorice) and chinese spices (cinnamon, cloves, coriander, star anise, black pepper, pink pepper) the 2006 clos mimi "petite rousse" smells more like a $95 "parfum" from chanel than a $25 "appellation paso robles" from clos mimi [the enchanting redhead below is nicole kidman]. as a result of endless hours of puccini's "la bohème" serenading the wine in the cellar, each bottle has been infused with 19th century parisian romance. speaking of mimi and rodolfo, a cold apartment in the latin quarter, a little wine and a little moonlight on christmas eve of 1830... "they call me mimì..."
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