Nose

Aromas of freshly picked black currants, ripe and blackberries, with subtle notes of violets, mocha and dried spices.

Palate

A luscious, modern-styled wine layered with an abundance of juicy olallieberry and cherry fruit, while nuances of cedar, clove, nutmeg and vanilla bean round out the long smooth finish. Full-bodied and rich, balanced by fresh acidity and integrated, polished tannins.

Growing Conditions

The 2021 growing season was very typical through early spring with warm days and cool nights. Early summer through harvest gave us some unexpected heatwaves but plenty of marine breezes and mild weather prevailed. The result was a slight delay of harvest while we waited for acidity, pH and brix to balance creating mature flavors.

Harvest

We source our Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon from 8 of the 11 districts in the Paso Robles AVA with each region contributing unique characteristics to the depth of the final wine. The Estrella district known for its loamy and gravely river plain slopes and canyons. Creston, known for its large daily diurnal swings aided by the Templeton Gap maritime breezes that make it to the Creston area by early afternoon each day during the growing season. The high flats of the Paso Robles Highlands are near the eastern borders of the AVA, yet receive cooling breezes each day straight from the coast 45 miles away. San Miguel district has large rolling hills and is situated on ancient river plains’ and riverbanks that produce an intriguing blend of soils with both loam, gravel and calcareous deposits.

Winemaking

After harvesting the grapes, select vineyard lots were fermented individually in stainless steel tanks for 10-14 days. Extended macerations and carefully managed pump overs enhanced the extraction of color and tannin.

Aging

The lots were aged separately for 11 months in a combination of 10% new, 25% once used, and 65% two to three times used French Oak. Through a combination of tasting and analytics our best lots were determined, and the initial blend was assembled in late summer of 2022. As a whole, this blend was aged an additional two months in 75% new and 25% once used French Oak. The wine was racked just twice during its cellar life, with the final racking occurring just prior to bottling.

Appearance

Deep Ruby