Nose
Abundant Rutherford-esque aromas of dusty berries, dried cherries, sage, and a hint of mocha, as well as warm undertones of vanilla and cedar.
Palate
On the palate, the wine displays a texture of crushed velvet, with bright red-fruit tones and a solid backbone, and a finish of violet-scented blueberries and warm blackberries.
Growing Conditions
Although the 2016 winter rains came late, they were almost double the volume of the previous year, resulting in robust vine growth through the spring. The vintage will be remembered for several severe heat waves: one in July which lasted for over a week, and then 3 distinct heat events in September. In July, overhead sprinklers were used at the JJ Cohn Estate to cool the vines and avoid damage. Most challenging was the extremely low relative humidity in September (<10%). Being so close to harvest, it was impossible to avoid some fruit dehydration, but with vigilance and care, the vines and fruit came through beautifully. Yields were slightly below normal, given the challenges of the vintage, but the quality of fruit harvested was excellent.
The 2016 M.Étain, hailing from a nearly perfect growing season.
Harvest
The fruit for this Rutherford Cabernet was harvested entirely by hand at the J.J. Cohn Estate, during the cool harvest nights between September 19, 2016 and October 3, 2016.
Bottling
Bottled without fining or filtration in late March, 2018.
Winemaking
The fruit was de-stemmed and optically sorted to accept only perfectly ripe individual grapes, fermented on skins for approximately 28 days, then gently pressed.
Aging
In French oak barrels for approximately 12 months. At that point, the individual lots of wine were blended to create this complex rendition of M. Étain. The wine was returned to barrels for an additional six months,
