Now that harvest 2008 is complete, I’m inspired to chat about our Clone 6, or ‘Jackson’ clone Cabernet Sauvignon. There is something about our little corner of the world, this unique side-pocket sticking out of the west side of Dry Creek Valley, that seems to lend itself so well to Clone 6.
Well, it lends itself well to the quality statement, that is, but frankly, the yields are pretty horrible economically speaking. Yet as poor as the yields are, I’m not sure there is a richer clone qualitatively. Tiny, tiny berries…more like little blueberries than grapes - this clone produces a simply stunning, and very identifiable wine…especially when it comes from the benchland vines clinging to the hillsides of the Michel-Schlumberger estate.
As the story goes, this clone was transported to the U.S. from Bordeaux in the mid 1800’s and planted for study by the U.C. Along comes phyloxerra in Europe and the world is turned upside down. European vineyards are devastated…and after a few ‘Hail Mary’s’ viticuturally speaking, order comes back to the world of wine.
Meanwhile, this plantation of Clone 6 outside of the little town of Jackson in the Sierra Foothills is forgotten.
In the mid 1950’s or so, some UC researchers figure out that this plant material still exists somewhere and set out to find it. Lo and behold, they find some wild vines and scrape some plant material to propagate this now ‘heritage’ clone. And as it turns out, this clone seems to create something magical on the Michel-Schlumberger Estate.
So when you taste our Cabernet Sauvignon…and especially the Deux Terres (our ‘reserve’ equivalent), taste the wine, close your eyes, and transport yourself back to Bordeaux in about 1850…that’s pre-European phyloxerra…and experience a wine that perhaps is reminiscent of the right bank maybe from a time forgotten. From a time before any of us were born and when the glory of Bordeaux was born. Imagine it — now taste it. How cool is that?
Now that the fog has rolled into Dry Creek Valley, the grapes are finally getting the hang time that they will surely benefit from. With these cool, wet (we call it frizzle…fog+ drizzle= frizzle) days and nights, the ripening process has slowed considerably and flavors, acids and tannins all seem to be coming together perfectly. 
