The Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon begins with a summer forage through the foothills, offering notes of blackberry jam, raspberry seed, fresh sage and black olive. Red fruit arrives on the palate, with cranberry sauce and cassis joining vanilla cream for a robust flavor persona. The sizable palate is rounded and inviting, with powerful tannins showing good restraint. The finish evokes a country drive to the neighborhood diner, with subtle gritty and dusty notes settling into a satisfying finish of baked fruit and cherry pie. Enjoy this Cabernet alongside a Blue Cheese burger; the sharpness of blue cheese and the juiciness of the burger perfectly balance the tannins and ripe fruit flavors of the wine.
The 2022 growing season in Napa Valley saw record-breaking weather events, with 80% of the total rainfall arriving before the new year. This filled vineyard ponds for the first time in two years but was followed by the driest three months on record, leading to an early bud break. Despite the dry spell, healthier canopies resulted from earlier rains. The summer was generally average but slightly warmer than 2021. Harvest started 5 to 7 days earlier than the previous year and was 15% lighter but of exceptional quality. A Labor Day heat wave accelerated harvest, later cooled by a late September rain event. Overall, the 2022 harvest was the most condensed in recent memory.
The 2022 vintage was harvested from September 8th to September 23rd. 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 88°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 60% 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 for a total of 18 months of barrel élevage. 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!