Winegrowing Notes:
RSV’s SLD Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant beast. It is dense with perfectly ripened tannin, bright, mouth-watering crispness, black stone fruit and an undercurrent of pyrazine compounds for a unique, savory, herbaceous character that is distinct to Cabernet Sauvignon picked at optimum (not over) ripeness.
Steeply terraced, RSV’s organically farmed SLD Estate Vineyard is just four and a half acres of shy-producing vines; each vine carrying only a few clusters of intensely flavored grapes. This vineyard yields the fewest tons per acre (2012 was considered a large crop at just two tons per acre) of any of RSV’s properties. The Stags Leap District is ideal for creating a classic style of wine. The amphitheater-like vineyard hugs the base of the mountain and rises up from the valley floor, capturing early morning fog and reflecting heat off the stony precipice in the afternoon. Lean, volcanic soils keep the vines in a state of stress that concentrates energy on the grapes instead of big leafy canopies. This idyllic combination of micro-climate, exposure and soil helps to create Cabernet Sauvignon that is elegant, balanced, full-flavored and age worthy.
Tasting Notes:
RSV’s Stags Leap District Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a 2012 release worth the wait! This one’s a firm handshake with a first impression of wisdom beyond its years. An aromatic greeting of boysenberry, cassis, spice, bay laurel and cocoa bean is backed by complex notes of leather, graphite and earth. After five minutes or so come hints of cherry and strawberry. The wine suggests old world complexity endowed with new world richness. It is both delicate and powerful with a brightness on the palate that balances the firm tannins and the weightiness of a perfectly ripened Cabernet from the SLD. A splash in the decanter while the wine is young will make it a great dinner companion or, for those with patience, a candidate to lose in the cellar for a few years… or decades! Patience will be rewarded as the wine evolves into an elegantly complex, supple and delicious beverage. Just 1,457 six-bottle cases were produced.
• A “Left Bank” of Napa wine
• Grown in RSV’s SLD Estate Vineyard in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley
• CCOF Certified Organic Vineyards
• Cave aged 2 years in 35% new French oak barrels
• Bottle aged an additional 2+ years in the RSV cellar before release