Nose
A lovely, come-hither nose of bright black cherry and raspberry fruit, coupled with intriguing hints of violets and roasted herbs
Palate
a full-bodied palate brimming with lush black cherry, plum, raspberry and strawberry flavors. Blessed with a very long finish featuring succulent cherry and blackberry fruit melded with super-smooth tannins and a vein of minerality
Growing Conditions
The 2015 vintage produced a notably light crop. A warm, dry winter fostered early bud-break, and consistently mild summer weather, with a few late-season heat spikes, led to the earliest harvest in Cakebread Cellars’ 43-year history. The light crop yielded small clusters and berries boasting remarkably intense, concentrated flavors. We harvested the fully ripened fruit between August 15th and September 23rd with an ideal balance of sugars and acidity.
Winemaking
Rubáiyat is a case study in the art of blending. Each year, our winemaker Julianne Laks blends multiple, small lots of red wine to create a smooth, robustly fruity and perfectly balanced red that beautifully accompanies a broad range of casual meals. Each lot is hand-harvested at night to preserve freshness and fruit purity and then 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 2015 Rubáiyat aged for a total of 15 months in French oak barrels, 35% new, with the component wines blended shortly before bottling to fully capture the wine’s fresh, fruit-forward aromas, lush, juicy flavors and supple tannins.
