Nose

blackberry, black plum and blackcurrant, coupled with intriguing lavender, loam, spice and mineral scents

Palate

immensely concentrated palate packed with intense, potent, blackberry, cassis, mission fig and dark chocolate flavors beautifully structured by firm, supple tannins. Incredibly focused, with a spellbindingly long finish showcasing savory black cherry, spice and mineral tones

Growing Conditions

pave the way for intense, powerful and amazingly concentrated boysenberry, blackberry, black plum and blackcurrant flavors, which take on intriguing spice, earth and mineral tones on the extremely long-lasting finish. Tightly structured, with firm, but well-integrated tannins and incredible depths of layered fruit

Winemaking

Cakebread Cellars winemaker Julianne Laks employs traditional artisan winemaking techniques to maximize the extraction of color, flavor and tannin from our Vine Hill Ranch fruit. After the grapes are crushed, the juice from each lot is cold-soaked for 48 hours to enhance texture, depth and intensity prior to initiating fermentation with a cultured French yeast strain. Once fermentation completes, the wines enjoy an extended maceration on their skins to further extract color and flavor while softening tannins. The 2012 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon spent 21 months in French oak barrels, 55% new, before bottling on July 28th, 2014.

Aging

21 months in French oak, 55% new