Nose
As the wine opens in the glass, faint hints of caramel and honey emerge.
Palate
The palate entry is dominated by dark berry and chocolate flavors, then broadens to include vanilla, fruit and forest floor notes. Texturally, the wine feels like heavy satin in the mouth, with only the finest-grained tannins adding structure to the finish.
Growing Conditions
The 2005 growing season was slightly cooler and wetter than normal in the Napa Valley, with a warm spell in March just as bud break was occurring. Substantial rains in May and June spurred rapid growth and high cluster counts. This necessitated multiple crop-reducing passes through the vineyard to promote quality and even ripening. Mild temperatures throughout summer and early fall were highly favorable for flavor development and maturation. The 2005 fruit is being likened to that of 1997, which saw a large yield of outstanding quality.
Vintage is sold out.
Harvest
This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested from four separate blocks of vines on the J.J. Cohn Estate between October 3 and October 12, 2005.
Bottling
The finished wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered in June of 2007.
Winemaking
Fruit from the Old Men vines was fermented in an open tank and punched down manually. The remaining lots were fermented using thrice-daily pump-overs and cap irrigations.
Aging
The wines were aged in separate new French oak barrels for the first year, then blended and barrel aged an additional nine months.
