Winemaker's Notes
Our cuvee of top Napa Valley properties produced a powerhouse in the 2005 vintage. Aromas of blackcurrant and tobacco reveal themselves as this deep black garnet offering opens up in the glass. A dense, viscous palate coats the mouth with boysenberry, roasted coffee and a hint of vanillin. Chewy tannins and notes of black pepper mark the finish of a cellar-worthy offering. Alcohol 14.9%
Harvest
Harvest Date
October 25 - November 2
Harvest Brix
23.9° – 25.1°
Growing Season
Extended cool weather and rains in spring resulted in late bud break in Napa Valley. A long, temperate growing season followed however, allowing for slow, full and even ripening of the fruit and development of tannins. Harvest of cabernet sauvignon began later than usual, running from October 11 through November 2.
Winemaking
• Hand-harvested grapes
• Fermented in 10 ton closed-top stainless steel fermentors with indigenous selected yeasts
• 5 days cold soak, 30 to 35 days total maceration
• Spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrels; 7 months to completion
• Aged 20 months in French oak barrels from Taransaud, Seguin Moreau, Alain Fouquet, Demptos, Bossuet, Nadalie and Sylvain; 69% new
• Unfined and unfiltered; bottled June 2007
• 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
