Very dark dense coloured wine with a great complex smell of dark fruit, chocolate, mint, leather, dried fruit with somewhat sweet undertones.
The taste was long with lots of dark fruit. Big, but soft tannins. Quite a mouthful with great balance and lovely acidity. Very approachable style and the wine was tried during a blind tasting after a Ch.Angelus 1993 that got a score of 18.70.
This one scored 18.90!
Elizabeth Spencer
Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Napa Valley
Extraction from the tasting sheet
Upon arrival at the winery, our Cabernet Sauvignon grapes
were hand-sorted. The berries were lightly macerated and
then given a long, cold soak in order to extract color and
flavor from the skins. Fermentation was allowed to begin
with “native” yeasts. Once fermentation was complete, the
wine was further macerated on the skins to increase color
and flavor extraction. This also allowed the tannin structure
to soften. The wine was aged for 24 months in a selection of
60-gallon French oak barrels. Underscoring our winemak-
ing philosophy of “minimal intervention”, the wine was
handled as little as possible from fermentation through
barrel aging and then bottled unfiltered and unfined.
As with each of our wines, winemaking decisions in the crafting of the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon are always informed by our goal of capturing and displaying this distinctive style. Though, in its essence, the consistent profile of our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is largely achieved through the attentive assembly of a proprietary blend of superb grapes grown in vineyards from various appellations, at a variety of elevations, up and down the Napa Valley. Spencer Graham, our Director of Winemaking, has built long-term relationships with this handful of premiere grape growers, who share our dedication to a pursuit of excellence in winegrowing, to ensure that we achieve the highest quality fruit from each growing season. Thus, we are able to showcase the character and optimum quality offered by each vintage while consistently reflecting our own ongoing house style.
As with each of our wines, winemaking decisions in the crafting of the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon are always informed by our goal of capturing and displaying this distinctive style. Though, in its essence, the consistent profile of our Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is largely achieved through the attentive assembly of a proprietary blend of superb grapes grown in vineyards from various appellations, at a variety of elevations, up and down the Napa Valley. Spencer Graham, our Director of Winemaking, has built long-term relationships with this handful of premiere grape growers, who share our dedication to a pursuit of excellence in winegrowing, to ensure that we achieve the highest quality fruit from each growing season. Thus, we are able to showcase the character and optimum quality offered by each vintage while consistently reflecting our own ongoing house style.
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