Harvest
2016 offered another near-perfect vintage in Napa Valley! While much-needed rain during the winter months helped to replenish our reservoirs, a dry spring and summer, with moderate temperatures and plenty of sunshine, led to another early harvest. Our first white grapes came into the winery on August 3rd, with the remainder of our whites following at an even, steady pace. A few weeks of ideally timed cool weather in early September provided additional hangtime, yielding bright acids and beautifully articulated flavors in our early ripening reds. Warm, dry weather for the remainder of the season allowed the rest of our grapes to develop rich, concentrated flavors, with polished tannins and wonderful complexity.
Winemaking
A wine of power and grandeur, this mountain-grown Cabernet displays beautiful aromas of huckleberry, black cherry, brambly blackberry and plum, as well as notes of savory tobacco leaf and brown sugar. On the palate, the voluptuous fruit flavors are supported by robust mountain tannins and an age-worthy structure, with notes of candied red cherry, baking spice, cigar box and herbs adding layered complexity to a remarkably long finish.
Aging
Cooperage: 100% French oak; Barrel Aging: 24 months total 18 months new/6 months neutral