2017 Cabernet Sauvignon
Gold Medal San Francisco Chronicle
We absolutely love Cabernet and we are very excited to share our own expression of this iconic varietal with you! Our long-term mission is to grow and enhance our Cabernet program, sourcing fruit from the prestigious powerhouse Cabernet regions of California such as Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles. We carefully select the growers, while considering their farming methods and ensuring that we have control over when the grape is picked. As we develop our Cabernet program, we would wholeheartedly welcome your feedback!
Cabernet is a chance crossing created in the 17th century between the red grape, Cabernet Franc, and the white grape, Sauvignon Blanc. Cabernet Sauvignon is a very assertive wine that melds the bold, dense and intense red grape while being enhanced with an aromatic white, dry, fruit forward wine that together are magic on the palate. The increasing popularity of this grape came at a time when the Phylloxera aphid was wiping out substantial portions of Bordeaux.
These Cabernet grapes are sourced from an award-winning vineyard in Paso Robles. They were picked in the wee hours of the morning, quickly loaded on our transport with dry ice pellets and brought to our winery before the heat of the day descended upon us. We processed the grapes immediately to ensure the peak of freshness. This year, we hand-sorted the clusters.
We fully de-stemmed and crushed the berries, using a 48-hour cold-soak to extract color and flavor from the skins. We inoculated the must and started our punch downs 3 times daily, observing a temperature-controlled environment below 80 degrees. Fermentation lasted for 3 weeks and the must was pressed using our hydraulic basket press. It was aged for 17 months on french oak. We lightly filtered at 5 microns before bottling.