Nose

Plush aromas of summer blackberry and freshly baked pastry are followed by notes of carnation and sweet
sage, finishing with a touch leather lent by the old vine component of this blend.

Palate

The entry is racy and
citrus-driven, quickly chased with juicy black fruits and intense red berry coulis, then dried herb and fine
powdery tannins that frame this well-structured wine. The long finish is tinged with bittersweet cocoa and
orange zest, lingering on its minerality and freshness.

Growing Conditions

The 2014 growing season was the third in a string of stunning vintages in Napa Valley. Dry, mild temperatures
brought on early budbreak, while the persistent drought helped produce small berries with concentrated
flavors and elegant tannins. The overall length of the growing season was normal, allowing for full ripening
and fresh, balanced acidity, however given the early start to the crop, it was our earliest harvest on record.
Most of all, this year will go down in history for the earthquake that rocked Napa just days before harvest.
Fortunately, our winery and vineyard were safe, but the greater community was deeply impacted, and the
event defined the entire season.

Vineyards: Pahlmeyer Estate, Rancho Chimiles, Atlas Peak, Stagecoach

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Bottling

Bottled April 4, 2016.

Winemaking

Our mountain-grown cabernet sauvignon is whole-berry fermented, not crushed, in order to capture its
concentrated color and flavors, while preserving a fresh fruit profile and preventing excessive tannin
extraction. We harvested at night to deliver naturally cooled grapes to the winery by early morning. The
whole clusters were gravity-fed onto a vibrating table where we hand-sorted to remove any damaged fruit
and sift out materials other than grapes. The selected clusters were then then gently fed into a Bucher
Oscyllis 200 destemmer, delivering whole berries onto a vibrating screen for a final hand sorting. The
resulting berries - ripe, plump and intact, were then gravity fed into our fermenters. After five days of cold
maceration, the fruit entered primary fermentation for two to three weeks, then was gently pressed in our
stainless steel basket. The wine was then transferred to barrel to finish malolactic fermentation.

Aging

Aged
in 65% new French oak for 17 months.