Nose
The wine boasts wonderfully fresh and fragrant ripe cherry, dark plum, and blackberry aromas accompanied by scents of lavender and dark chocolate.
Palate
On the full-bodied palate, rich and juicy dark cherry, plum, elderberry and blackberry flavors segue into a long, savory finish showcasing briary spice tones.
Growing Conditions
The 2012 vintage was one of California’s finest in recent memory. Consistently mild summer weather free of rain and significant heat spikes allowed for even, uninterrupted ripening and the opportunity to harvest our Rubáiyat grapes with an ideal balance of sugars and acidity.
Winemaking
Rubáiyat is a stellar example of expert blending. Each year, our winemaker, Julianne Laks, blends multiple small lots of separately harvested, fermented and aged red varietals to create a smooth, rich, fruit-forward red wine that beautifully accompanies a wide range of casual meals. Each lot is hand-harvested at night to preserve freshness and fruit purity and fermented in small, open-top, stainless steel tanks, using manual punchdowns to gently macerate the juice and skins and extract optimal color and flavor. The 2012 Rubáiyat aged 14 months in French oak barrels, 35% new, with the component wines blended shortly before bottling to capture the wine’s ripe, fruit-forward aromas, rich, juicy flavors and smooth tannins.
Aging
14 months in French oak barrels, 35% new
Food Pairing
hearty foods, from grilled burgers, steaks and spicy sausages to barbecued ribs and chicken, and rich, tomato-based pastas
