Nose
On the nose, fresh blueberry cobbler, burnt sugar, vanilla bean and a touch of earth.
Palate
Flavors of coco powder, baking spices with additional silky vanilla. The beautifully integrated tannins frame this robust Cabernet Sauvignon to reveal a luxurious full mouth feel that allows this wine to linger.
Growing Conditions
The 2019 growing season was a bit challenging: Above average rainfall persisted throughout the spring with the last rainfall occurring unusually late on May 31st. These conditions kept the spring free of frost threats but relatively cool, leading to slow and steady vine growth. The summer months were somewhat erratic with short heat waves followed by cooler periods. Ultimately, the cooler weather persisted with only a few autumn heat spikes, creating gradual berry maturities, plenty of “hang time “and a later- than-normal harvest.
Harvest
Mid-late October brought overnight freezes which required some harvest mitigation, but by early November harvest was complete.
Bottling
May 2021
Winemaking
The making of Austin Hope Reserve Cabernet begins with small lot fermentations separated by individual vineyard blocks which receive daily pump-overs for maximum extraction. These lots are constantly supervised, tasted & analyzed for tannin and anthocyanins in order to determine optimal length of extended maceration after fermentation. Once drained and pressed, the young wines are barreled down into a combination of once used and neutral French Oak.
Aging
In fall of 2020, the lots were blended together and continued barrel aging in 75% new French Oak. Just before bottling the 2019 Austin Hope Cabernet, the winemaking team tasted and selected individual barrels that displayed exceptional quality and character. These barrels were combined together to form the AHCS Reserve. After an additional 6 months of ageing in 100% new French Oak, the wine bottled.
