Mount Veeder Winery

California

Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon Rosenquist

Mt. Veeder

$100 USD

Release Price

Drink Window

14.5%

ABV

3.76

pH

6.4

TA

RS

Nose

Layers of complexity from beautiful ripe plum and dark cherry laced with enticing notes of bay, black peppercorn, cardamom, toffee and mocha.

Palate

Juicy ripe berries, cassis and mocha fill the palate, along with notes of fig, toffee and chocolate. Powerful yet refined structure with finely-knit tannins that deliver a round mouthfeel and supple texture. Generous and smooth finish of dark plum and black currant.

Growing Conditions

The Rosenquist vineyard is one of our three estate Mount Veeder ranches. The elevation: a lofty 1,500-1,600 feet above sea level, creating unique and rugged growing conditions which encourage vines to struggle to produce a low yield of high quality fruit. The vineyard is beautiful, with steeply terraced vineyard rows wrapping around the mountainside. Full, open exposure to the mid-day sun gives optimum fruit development and ripening. Rosenquist fruit displays the full majesty of Mount Veeder – rich and supple, bold and brambly. So singular is the character of grapes from Rosenquist that we felt compelled to make a Cabernet bottling exclusively from this ranch.

The 2013 vintage gave us near perfect growing conditions which led to an early harvest. Spring conditions were warm and dry which led to an early bud break and very even set. Aside from one hot spell at the end of June, temperatures remained moderate throughout the spring and summer. With only 8 inches of rain from January through June, the vines had less green growth and an earlier turn to fruit development. Early October saw a major north wind event, bringing dry air off the arid northern CA interior down across the coastal areas. Humidity during October 3-7 was very low, single digits, with strong winds buffeting all parts of Napa. Thirsty vineyards prompted harvest to accelerate even more than usual. In 7 days we brought in ~24% of our fruit. Harvest of our hillside fruit on Mount Veeder began September 14 and ended October 19 – well ahead of our usual schedule. As harvest progressed, we became more and more aware that the color and intensity of Bordeaux reds in the 2013 vintage would lead to a truly phenomenal vintage.

Winemaking

Pre-fermentation cold soak of 4 days to enhance color and body. Fermentation and maceration averaging 24 days to build structure and integrate mouthfeel.