Vintage:
We enjoyed a beautiful vintage in 2013 with consistent sunshine and moderate temperatures that grapes love. After a wet start to winter in 2012, spring was warmer than usual, triggering an early bud break and lowering and fruit set under sunny skies. With only one heat spike in late June/early July, Napa’s typical warm days and cool nights produced healthy vines. We started harvesting about two weeks earlier than usual and never seemed to stop with grapes coming in at a steady pace.
Vineyard:
Our Yountville vineyard forms the heart of our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, with grapes from our Rutherford and Calistoga vineyards rounding out the blend. We farm all of our vineyards naturally, without artificial pesticides or herbicides, and they are certiied organic. The result is a full-bodied, elegant Cabernet Sauvignon with pure flavors and a pronounced sense of place.
The Wine:
We believe in minimal intervention winemaking, fermenting the grapes with indigenous yeast at moderate temperatures that allow the wine to gain flavors and color from extended skin contact. Each lot is aged separately for several months, and then blended to create a wine that is more complex than the individual parts. After blending, the wine spent another year and half in barrel to completely harmonize before bottling.
The wine’s complex flavors of black currants, clove and mocha are topped of by licorice. Its full-bodied, rich mouthfeel carries these flavors for a long, lingering finish that loves seared steak, Gorgonzola gnocchi, beef bourguignon and ratatouille.
Blend:
79% Cabernet Sauvignon
12% Merlot
5% Petit Verdot
4% Cabernet Franc
Time in oak: 21 months in French oak
Type of oak: 60% new French oak
Total acid: 5.7 g/L
pH: 3.63
Alcohol: 14.6%
The majority of grapes within this red are grown in Yountville and certified organic. Simple aromatics make way for a touch of reduction on the nose, while flavors of brushy sage, cedar and clove offer more spice than fruit. Sharp tannins lie beneath. - Wine Enthusiast Magazine 86 Points
