The fruit for this remarkable wine was harvested by hand from September 26 through October 16, 2003, entirely from the three Husic Vineyards above Stags Leap District, located at the Husic's estate. Picked at extreme ripeness, the fruit was gently hand-sorted, destemmed, and sorted again until each grape was inspected. The grapes were carefully transferred to a fermentation tank without the use of pumps, and were fermented on the skins for more than 30 days. The dark wine was then transferred by gravity to new French oak barrels and aged for nearly two years in a cool cave. The best barrels where chosen for the final blend, and the wine was bottled without fining and with only very light filtration.

The finished wine is very, very dark in color, and shows deep chocolate-cherry aromas that evolve into raspberry cordial and warm clove/spice tones. Soft and rich at entry, the fruit-infused flavors combine with hints of grilled anise and cocoa. The wine shows remarkable density and structure, yet very supple tannins, a testimony to this perfect growing season, which yielded small quantities of intensely flavored grapes.

The finished wine is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, 100% Estate- grown and aged 22 months in 100% new French oak. 875 Cases were produced.