Vineyard

We had a cold, dry Winter (our rainfall was half of normal) and warm Spring temperatures which led to an early budbreak. We anticipated an early harvest, but moderate Summer temperatures, specifically a cooling trend in August, allowed the grapes to mature slowly. Harvest began on October 8.

Cellar

To produce this wine, we first sorted the fruit (to eliminate leaves and stems), then fermented the juice with its skins to extract both color and flavor. CO₂ gas (a by-product of fermentation) bubbled up through the skins causing them to float to the top and form the “cap”.  To ensure thorough color and flavor extraction, we pumped juice from the bottom of the tank and sprinkled it over the cap throughout fermentation. 

Following the Bordeaux tradition of extended maceration, the wine remained with its skins for another two weeks to soften the young tannins. We then drained the wine, pressed the skins and moved the Cabernet into our caves where it was aged in French (80%) and American (20%) oak barrels. During its first Winter, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation which lowered its acidity and added richness to the palate. In its second year, this Cabernet was aged in both oak barrels and oak tanks. After many blending trials, we decided to add 1% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec to the 2014 Cabernet to increase the wine’s depth and length. This wine was bottled in August 2016.

Drinkability

At our Annual Vertical Tasting in February 2024, we tasted the 2014 and here are our notes: Bing cherries, blackberries, cassis, Fraises des bois, violets and carpaccio. Complex, chewy. Roasted coffee, earthy, toast and bittersweet chocolate. Long finish.

At Harvest:

24.3° Brix sugar
0.64 g/100 mls TA
3.42 pH

At Bottling:

14.5% alcohol
0.60 g/100 mls TA
3.73 pH