Untitled - NADIA Wine

S
ince 1982, the Laetitia Estate Vineyard & Winery has produced
elegant wines that champion the exceptional character and diversity
of the Arroyo Grande Valley AVA. Valuing tradition, balance,
innovation, and sustainable practices from harvest to glass, the Laetitia team
works meticulously from vintage to vintage to ensure that every bottle of
Laetitia wine is as expressive as the land from which it originates.
The Land Is Ours,
The Grapes Are Ours,
The Wine...Is Yours.
The Land
T
he Laetitia Estate Vineyards were first
planted to grapes in 1982 when French
viticulturists found ideal growing conditions
in the Arroyo Grande Valley for producing wines
of similar character to those of their homeland in
Epernay, France. Nineteen years later, the property
would be acquired by Selim Zilkha, founder of a
Is Ours,
successful wind power development company and
champion of environmental sustainability. Between
his qualifications in renewable energy solutions and
his passion for the pleasures of the harvest, Selim has
developed Laetitia into the home of some of California’s
highest quality, sustainably-produced wines.
The Grapes
W
ine made from estate-grown fruit is distinctive
because it is the product of one artistic vision
from vine to glass. At Laetitia, Vice President
Vineyard Operations Lino Bozzano begins
fulfilling that vision by farming the vines according to
the winemakers’ style, the disposition of the varieties,
and their particular growing conditions. “There is
tremendous diversity in this small area, from the soils
to the meso-climates,” says Lino, a third-generation
California farmer and graduate of Cal Poly’s Crop Science
Are Ours,
program. “It’s the perfect venue for understanding what
site means to the wines.” Having assumed his current
position, Lino possesses a breadth of knowledge of the
Laetitia property that includes the clonal properties,
soil types and varietal composition of any given row
of vines. His fastidious attention to the estate’s 600+
acres of vines and the unity of purpose he shares with
winemakers Eric Hickey and Dave Hickey bring clarity,
focus, and grace to each bottle of Laetitia wine.
The Wine...
A
deep and abiding respect for Laetitia’s estategrown fruit is the mark of Eric Hickey’s
winemaking. Beginning his hands-on training in
the cellar at the tender age of 16, Eric has lived
and breathed Laetitia all the way to the top, where he is
now the Head Winemaker and the winery’s President. “I
keep it simple,” he says, “And I stay eye-to-eye with Lino
because the interplay between us is what determines
the wines’ quality. Everything done in the cellar starts
with what we do out in the vineyard.” While Eric makes
a point of experimenting with small lots each vintage,
his style is fundamentally built upon finding balance,
Is Yours.
finesse, and the essence of the fruit he has come to
know for so many years. Similarly, Laetitia’s Sparkling
Winemaker and Vice President Production, Dave
Hickey, is a self-described student of the vines. “The
vineyards were planted in 1982, and I came on in
1985,” he says. “Working with the same fruit for so long
translates into a lot of knowledge.” Trained in Méthode
Champenoise winemaking by French traditionalists,
Dave uses the winery’s Coquard grape presses (the
only two in North America and the gold standard for
winemaking in Champagne) as the foundation for
sparkling wines that have attracted devotees to the
Laetitia Estate for decades.
Laetitia
Estate Wines
Brut Cuvée
Brut Rosé
Estate Chardonay
Estate Pinot Noir
Reserve du domaine
pinot noir
The Laetitia Non-Vintage
Brut Cuvée is comprised
of Chardonnay, Pinot
Noir and Pinot Blanc
fruit that is handharvested, whole-cluster
basket-pressed and
tank-fermented using a
Champagne yeast. Made
in accordance with the
Méthode Champenoise,
the Brut Cuvée’s crisp
acidity and notes of
warm biscuit dough and
ripe stone fruit make it a
versatile and refreshing
wine to pour on any
occasion.
With a salmon-colored
hue and fine bubbles,
the Brut Rosé is as
delightful to behold as
it is to sip. This favorite
sparkling wine is bottled
using the traditional
Méthode Champenoise,
and is made primarily
from Pinot Noir, some
of which is selected
from Laetitia’s still wine
program by winemaker
Dave Hickey to accent
the final blend.
With Laetitia’s
signature balance of
crisp acidity, the Estate
Chardonnay is made
from a wide selection
of Chardonnay clones,
70% of which are new
plantings and 30%
of which are twentyyear-old vines. To
achieve a tension
between Old World
and New World-style
Chardonnay, the
grapes are handharvested and pressed
whole-cluster into
barrels before the wine
undergoes primary
and secondary
fermentation.
The backbone of the
Laetitia repertoire, the
Estate Pinot Noir is
produced from lowyielding vines planted
in rocky volcanic
and limestone soils.
Blended from a wide
variety of Pinot Noir
grapes grown on the
Laetitia property,
the Estate Pinot Noir
consistently offers
aromas and flavors
of fresh cranberries,
pomegranates and
cherries met with
earthy sandalwood
and smoke.
Deep garnet in color,
with notes of earth
and rich boysenberry,
Laetitia’s Pinot Noir
Reserve du Domaine
is our winemakers’
Tête de Cuvée or
“head of the class”.
With this Pinot Noir,
individual barrels are
selected that represent
the paramount of
the vintage and offer
a step up in body,
complexity and
longevity.
Laetitia Single Vineyard
Pinot Noirs
F
rom vintage to vintage, specific vineyard blocks have proven to
grow especially expressive Laetitia Pinot Noir. The winemaking
team captures the spirit of these corners of the vineyard by
harvesting their fruit separately for the production of small lots of
wine, each of which has something unique to tell about the land.
La Colline Single
Vineyard Pinot Noir
Les Galets Single
Vineyard Pinot Noir
The La Colline Single
Vineyard Pinot Noir is named
after the hillside on which
the vineyard was planted.
This historic old-vine block
was originally meant to yield
grapes for sparkling wine, with
progressive, tight spacing to
mirror the French approach to
planting. Root competition is
increased and sun exposure is
maximized on this south-facing
slope, which experiences a
110-foot change in elevation
from bottom to top.
The Les Galets Single
Vineyard Pinot Noir is named
after the large round stones
(“galets”) that influence this
wine’s mineral notes of chalk
and wet limestone. Offering
effusive dark berry and dried
black cherry aromas integrated
with warm flavors of tobacco,
cola and baking spice, this
full-bodied Pinot lingers with
a finish as complex as the
ancient Diablo and Cibo clay
soils in which the vines are
planted.
Commitment
to Sustainability
L
aetitia Vineyard & Winery recognizes that the approach it
takes to vineyard management and winemaking impacts the
community at large as well as that of future generations. For this
reason, Laetitia is proud to be SIP (Sustainability In Practice) certified
by the Central Coast Vineyard Team, which identifies and promotes
the most environmentally safe, viticulturally and economically
sustainable farming methods. Qualifying for SIP certification requires
a rigorous third-party audit of ten criteria, including water and
energy conservation, social equity, and pest management. Examples
of Laetitia’s commitment to stewarding its resources include vineyard
practices such as re-use of compost and water reclamation; investment
in cutting-edge weather station and soil moisture technology; the
use of goats for fire and weed control on hillsides; and providing
comprehensive benefit packages to all Laetitia employees.
Laetitia vineyard & Soil Map
Laetitia Vineyard & Winery
453 Laetitia Vineyard Drive
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
1.888.809.VINE or 805.481.1772
www.laetitiawine.com