Nose
With its classic varietal Cabernet profile, this focused wine shows beautiful balance of bramble fruit, cocoa, mocha, and herbal notes.
Palate
Layers of blackberry and cassis mingle with polished tannins through an earthy finish.
Growing Conditions
Vineyards: Candy Mountain, Estate Seven Hills, Alder Ridge, Klipsun, Summit View, Bacchus & Dionysus, Pepper Bridge, Stone Tree, Loess, Yellow Jacket, Estate Ferguson, Stone Valley.
Harvest
The 2017 vintage was moderate in heat units and produced spectacular quality and balance normally associated with such seasonal conditions. A cool, wet spring delayed bud break until early April allowing the vines to fully recover from a hard prior winter. Bloom occurred in early June in line with the long-term average. July and early August were slightly warmer than normal suppressing berry growth and yields. Late September was cooler than normal. This slowed fruit maturation, pushing most of harvest into October. Our beautiful Indian summer brought plentiful sunshine in October. Warm days and cool night temperatures produced an ideal balance of flavor development, acid retention, and mineral notes in the majority of wines. A near-perfect vintage in the door.
Winemaking
Each lot was hand-harvested ripe and gently crushed into 1.5 and 5 ton stainless steel fermenters. Gentle handling of the fruit through hand punch downs and gravity-assisted movements were utilized throughout the entire winemaking process. The wine was cleanly racked to small oak barrels, 25% new, with four rackings over 22 months.
