1996
Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon, Hyde Vineyard Carneros, Napa Valley
Winemaker's Notes
Deep black garnet color; generous aromas of ripe cherries, chocolate truffles, sweet nutmeg and sage; intense fruit flavors, blackcurrants, red-fleshed plums mingle with exotic spices, black olive and a hint of tobacco. Full-bodied, luxurious on the mid-palate; the finish is elegant and powerful. Alcohol 13.2%
Excellent growing season; early bud break due to warm spring temperatures led to a long maturation process. An extended, warm summer gave the fruit time to ripen gracefully and fully express the combinations of sunshine and fog, hillside and wind, that is Carneros.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested grapes
Fermented in open-top stainless steel fermentors
5-day cold maceration, 28 days total maceration
Fermentation with indigenous yeast
Malolactic fermentation in barrels
Aged 21-months in French oak barrels, 50% new Taransaud
