Nose

aromas of pure, ripe boysenberry and blackberry fruit, coupled with enticing loam and mocha scents, introduce our thoroughly delicious, superbly balanced, 2012 Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon.

Palate

Wonderfully dense, rich and supple on the palate, with deeply concentrated black cherry, blackberry and black fig flavors, it boasts round, seamlessly integrated tannins and an extremely long, lush finish.

Growing Conditions

2012 was a spectacular growing season in Napa Valley, with a warm, dry spring fostering early budbreak and trouble-free flowering and grape set. Consistently mild summer weather free of rain or unwelcome heat spikes allowed us to harvest our cabernet grapes at peak maturity with a perfect balance of deeply concentrated fruit flavors, bright acidity and ripe, supple tannins.

Winemaking

We ferment the individual lots of this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – representing six separate vineyard blocks and four different cabernet clones – in small stainless steel tanks to maximize color extraction, tannin structure and vineyard expression. Tank sizes, yeast strains, fermentation temperatures and maceration techniques are tailored to the character of each lot. Such specialized fermentations, combined with lot-specific barrel aging regimens, ensure the finest attributes of each vineyard are reflected in the final blend. Our 2012 Benchland Select spent 21 months aging in French oak barrels, 52% new, prior to bottling in July, 2014.

Aging

21 months in French oak, 52% new