winemaker notes |
NOSE: ripe black plum, dark black cherry, roasting ham, rich caramel and cocoa - to name a few.
TASTE: Ripe, round tannins and deep flavors of blackberry, plum, roasted meat, butterscotch and smoky caramel, all framed with a rich acidity. The lingering finish seems to go on and on with complex notes of bramble, barbeque, cocoa bean, and sweet plum. We patiently waited to harvest only on days when we felt perfect ripeness had been reached, and not a day earlier - or later. And as always, we hand thinned a significant portion of the crop in the early summer, to allow the vine to focus its energies into the remaining clusters.
Though 2007 is young for a Mt. Veeder Cabernet, this wine is ready to drink now, and will improve in bottle through 2015 (on the other hand the splendid Reserve Cab from this same vintage is notably more youthful - as it should be. Stay tuned).
TECHNIQUE: Hand sorted fruit, fruit destemmed and berries barely broken, 4-6 day cold soak, wild and inoculated fermentations, all small lot open top fermentors, hand punch downs and pumpovers three times daily, malolactic completed in barrel, minimal handling (3 rackings), bottled UNFINED and UNFILTERED. |
