Palate
With 2014 being a warm vintage, it was important for us to not over-expose the fruit and make sure to pick before any late season hot weather. This allowed us to preserve the freshness and intensity of the fruit. Once in the cellar, the fruit impressed us with its freshness and balance. Fermentations were healthy and the result is a wine of great depth and elegance. The oak is well integrated featuring supple, very fine grain tannins. Decant this wine in its youth; it will reach a nice level of complexity 8-10 years from vintage, and with proper cellaring its depth and very fine tannins will continue to develop over the next 10+ years.
Growing Conditions
Our Profile proprietary red blend showcases the very best fruit from each harvest, sourced exclusively from our gorgeous hillside estate vineyard located east of St. Helena. Overlooking the Napa Valley, the Profile Estate Vineyard lies on an eastern
ridge at almost one thousand feet of elevation. Planted in 1997 by David Abreu, Michel Rolland and then winemaker Bob
Levy, the 25-acre vineyard is comprised of four different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, along with two acres of Petit Verdot and one acre of Cabernet Franc. The steep slopes, rocky soils and volcanic ash bedrock make it a very challenging site to farm, yet this vineyard consistently delivers grapes that stand out for their plush fruit character, complexity and silky tannins. Vintners are using words like “quality”, “depth of flavor” and “excellent” to describe expectations for the 2014 vintage in Napa Valley. The weather was generally perfect at the right times, leading to an abundant and strong crop.
Harvest
For the 2014, the grapes were hand-harvested only at night then sorted in the field and at the winery. Harvest started and ended earlier than usual. The first grapes were picked on July 30th and nearly all harvest activity was completed by the third week of October, a full two weeks ahead of normal harvest schedule for most wineries.
Bottling
The wine was bottled without fining or filtration.
Winemaking
The fruit was cold soaked, allowing a long and gentle extraction to take place. Each lot was fermented separately in small tanks. Native fermentation began after the 7-day cold soak and reached a peak temperature of 90°F. The wines were pumped over a few times a day until dryness and then pressed and drained to barrels where malolactic fermentation occurred.
Aging
We aged the wine for 26 months in 100% new French oak barrels from Taransaud, Darnajou and Sylvain.
