The 2019 Cave 7 is generous on the nose, leading with graphite, tobacco leaf, cedar, nutmeg, and the spicy tang of tabasco peppers. On the entry, blue and red fruit elements meld harmoniously with those of black olive and tomato leaf, followed by a burst of wild bramble berry. Plum dominates the midpalate, which is held up by layered tannins and plenty of strawberry and Bing cherry flavors. The wine exits the palate in style, leaving a trace of cherry cordial, milk chocolate, and cherry cola. Enjoy this wine from now until 2033. We love it served with a lobster mushroom risotto.
The fruit was harvested from September 13th through October 25th. 2019 began with a wet and cool spring, which pushed bud break out two weeks later than in 2018. The summer growing season was relatively uneventful, with no heat spikes. Due to the moderate weather and late bud break, veraison did not end until early August in some areas of the valley. Autumn brought hot days and cool nights which helped push the grapes to full ripening, while preserving their acidity. As a result, the wines produced from this vintage are full and robust with deep color.
The grapes were hand-harvested at night when temperatures often dip to 50°F to capture vibrant acidity and fruit expression in the wine. We first cold-soaked the must (crushed grapes) for gentle extraction and then fermented in stainless steel, concrete and oak barrel fermenters at 92°F. Rigorous pump-overs, increasing during the peak of the fermentation, developed deep color, rich varietal character, and fine tannins in the wine. The wine was aged in new French oak barrels to meld the bright fruit expression with oak spice nuances. After three months of aging, we blended the vineyard components allowing them to marry during the remainder of the 30 months of barrel-aging. This wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered to present the attributes of the vineyard in the purest form possible, from the dirt to the glass!
