Region: Napa Valley

Vineyard: Phillip French Vineyard

Bottling Date: January 25, 2016

Release: Dececmber 1, 2016

Production: 114 cases

Alcohol: 13.14%

Drinking Window: 2017-2029

Winemaking Notes:

After tasting the 2013 Cabernet develop for a year in barrel, it had become clear by the time 2014 rolled around that we were dealing with some great fruit out of the Phillip French Vineyard. That means that my job as winemaker is pretty much to not screw anything up. We picked at about the same ripeness level in 2014 (23 brix or so), and once again de-stemmed all the fruit but left the berries whole. Fermentation began using native yeast after about a week. The tannin and color were a little difficult to extract, so I left the juice on the skins for nearly three weeks, and used punchdowns at the end of primary fermentation. In 2014 we decided to age the cabernet in 500L barrels (as opposed to the usual size of 225L), which makes the oak impression less severe, and also should allow the wine to age more slowly. After 14 months in barrel we bottled the Cabernet with no fining or filtration.

Tasting Notes:

The 2014 Cabernet is deep purple in color, with a bright rim that verges on fuchsia. The nose is loaded with exotic aromas of cocoa, gingerbread, violets and dates, along with more typical cabernet notes of kirsch and blackberry. The palate opens with juicy blackberry and black cherry flavors, but quickly develops complex layers of espresso, wet slate, and iron. Luxurious without being over the top or over ripe, good acid and tannin structure suggest a wine that will age well and develop even more complexity as it ages.